Brooklyn Boro

NYU Langone receives $25 million gift from the Bezos Family Foundation

NYU Lutheran Medical Center Has Officially Become NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn

July 20, 2017 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Jackie and Mike Bezos read to children and families at NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn
Share this:

NYU Lutheran Medical Center has formally changed its name to NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn. The name change is a major development for longtime residents of the neighborhood who have always known it as Lutheran Hospital.

The hospital also announced a philanthropic pledge of $25 million made by the Bezos Family Foundation that will support major initiatives to help mothers, children and families throughout the borough.

The Bezos Family Foundation is a private, independent foundation established by Jackie and Mike Bezos, who along with their children and spouses serve as directors. Jackie and Mike Bezos are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ mother and step-father. The foundation, however, is not funded by the Amazon founder.

The foundation’s focus includes research, public awareness and programs focused on education and improving the lives of children.

Subscribe to our newsletters

The gift will provide long-term funds for critical new positions and initiatives based on the science of early brain development to advance mother/baby care and support families during the critical first years of a child’s life.

“This is a significant step forward for our medical center, which has made considerable changes and improvements to better help patients and communities across Brooklyn,” said Dr. Bret J. Rudy, executive hospital director and senior vice president.

“This generous gift from the Bezos Family Foundation represents a major milestone in our institution’s history. What our talented physicians, researchers and staff will be able to accomplish thanks to the foundation’s support will enable NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn to provide outstanding care for the community — making us a destination for growing families.” 

The hospital is on track to deliver approximately 4,500 babies annually by 2018 and has more than 600,000 visits per year to its network of nine Family Health Centers — many of these visits for prenatal and infant health.

The gift represents a milestone in a philanthropic history spanning a decade between the foundation and NYU Langone. 

“When we first visited NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, we realized why it has been a beacon for Sunset Park and the surrounding community for more than 100 years,” said Jackie Bezos, president of the Bezos Family Foundation.

“Given the nearly decade-long relationship our foundation has had with NYU Langone and the high-quality outcomes they have achieved, the combination of academic rigor and community commitment presented an important new opportunity to support their work and provide resources to infuse the latest science on early brain development,” added Mike Bezos, vice president of the Bezos Family Foundation.

“This is a wonderful community and our hope is for them to experience care that is greater than they have ever had before.”

 


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment