Hackensack (N.J.) Meridian Health has received a $125 million gift from an anonymous donor, the largest philanthropic commitment in the system’s history.
The donation is also the largest gift of its kind in New Jersey healthcare and among the largest donations ever gifted to a U.S. hospital or health system, according to a Sept. 14 news release shared with Becker’s.
Hackensack Meridian plans to use the gift to expand its Neptune City, N.J.-based Jersey Shore University Medical Center, advancing its mission to bring care closer to people and communities it serves.
The donor asked that their gift honor the late John Lloyd’s legacy by naming a pavilion at Jersey Shore University Medical Center after him. Mr. Lloyd served as co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian and spent more than four decades molding Jersey Shore University Medical Center into a top academic medical center, the release said.
“In a year when the largest gifts in American healthcare have come from some of the most recognizable names in the country, someone chose to give $125 million and ask for nothing — no name on the building, no announcement, no recognition,” Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said in the release. “They asked us to honor John Lloyd instead. That tells you everything about what this gift is really about.”
Hackensack Meridian, a nonprofit system, has committed more than $1 billion over 10 years through its master facility plan for a new critical care tower, expanded patient facilities and 24 new operating rooms on its Neptune City campus. It recently opened a $45 million cardiovascular suite at Jersey Shore, which nearly tripled patient capacity for heart and stroke care.
The system’s Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, N.J., is also undergoing a $56 million expansion to redesign its emergency department and add a 20-room private oncology unit. The ED is expected to be complete in 2027 and includes a dedicated six-bed secured crisis unit, in-unit CT scanner and expanded waiting areas.
Lastly, the system is also investing in large, multi-specialty health and wellness centers in New Jersey’s Eatontown and Freehold, primary care in Howell and an additional health and wellness center in Red Bank that will be opening soon.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 18 hospitals, more than 500 care locations and more than 40,000 employees, the release said.
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