Category: Philanthropy

A wave of extraordinary private giving is remaking South Florida’s medical landscape, with donors pouring nine-figure sums into hospitals, research centers and medical schools across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, CBS12 reported in a June examination of the trend.

Among the largest commitments: Dr. Herbert Wertheim’s $100 million to Baptist Health South Florida for a cancer institute and research center, according to CBS12.

No donor has spread money more widely than Citadel founder Ken Griffin, who relocated his firm to Miami in 2022. His South Florida health care gifts include $50 million to Baptist Health for Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative disease research, $50 million to the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center for a 12-story research facility, $25 million to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for a pediatric surgical tower, $15 million to Mount Sinai Medical Center for its cancer center expansion, $10 million to UHealth’s digestive health division and $3 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities, per CBS12.

Medical Education Gets Its Share

The giving extends to the classroom. Helen and Jacob Shaham committed $30 million to Florida International University’s College of Medicine for an academic medical center — on top of $15 million to Nicklaus Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute — while John and Ann Wood gave $28 million to Florida Atlantic University for medical school scholarships and David Husman gave $20 million to Nova Southeastern University for an ALS research institute, according to the report. Broward Health received $5.2 million from the Henry E. Haller Jr. Foundation for cardiac labs at its Fort Lauderdale flagship.

Philanthropy leaders trace the surge partly to the pandemic. “COVID brought home the fact that you need extraordinary good healthcare where you live,” Baptist Health Foundation CEO Alexandra Villoch told CBS12, describing the gifts as investments in the community’s future rather than traditional charity. Loreen Chant, president and CEO of the Health Foundation of South Florida, said philanthropic leaders recognize that investments in hospitals, medical education and research create lasting regional benefits.

The momentum has continued into the summer: on Aug. 3, Baptist Health Foundation announced a $1 million gift from Julio C. and Alexandra Herrera for maternal and neonatal care. For patients, the payoff is measured in new towers, expanded trial access and specialists who no longer require a flight north — a quiet transformation funded gift by gift.

MIAMI — Baptist Health Foundation has received a $1 million gift from Julio C. and Alexandra Herrera to support care for women and infants at two of the system’s flagship hospitals, the foundation announced on Aug. 3.

The gift is divided evenly: $500,000 will support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at South Miami Hospital, and $500,000 will help fund the transformation of the Lake Pavilion at Baptist Hospital, according to the announcement.

For the Herreras, the cause is personal. The couple’s commitment stems from their own experience when their son required NICU care at South Miami Hospital, and the family has multi-generational ties to Baptist Health, the foundation said.

“Their gift reflects a deep commitment to advancing healthcare in our community and ensuring future generations receive highest quality care,” said Alex Villoch, CEO of Baptist Health Foundation, in the announcement.

Where the Money Goes

South Miami Hospital’s NICU operates 62 Level III beds in private and semi-private rooms outfitted with specialized lighting and noise-reduction surfaces, plus secure remote-viewing cameras that let parents see their newborns when they cannot be at the bedside, according to the foundation.

The Lake Pavilion gift feeds into a much larger project: Baptist Health is investing $120 million to modernize the pavilion at Baptist Hospital with expanded labor and delivery suites, postpartum care, Level II and III NICU services, gynecology and specialized emergency care for women. Baptist Hospital welcomes more than 3,000 births annually, and both hospitals hold Level IV Maternal Care Verification from The Joint Commission — the highest designation for maternal care, per the announcement.

The Herrera gift is the latest in a run of significant private investment in South Florida health care. Donors have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the region’s hospital systems in recent years, a trend that industry leaders attribute in part to a post-pandemic conviction that world-class care close to home is worth funding, CBS12 has reported.

For families like the Herreras, the giving closes a loop — turning a frightening chapter in a hospital room into resources meant to steady the next family that finds itself there.

WEST PALM BEACH — Feeding South Florida will host its annual Outrun Hunger 5K at Okeeheelee Park on Saturday, Sept. 19, timing the Palm Beach County race to the start of Hunger Action Month, the Boca Raton Tribune reported in August.

Each race registration helps provide 120 meals for individuals and families facing hunger and food insecurity, according to the Tribune — a conversion that reflects the food bank’s ability to stretch each donated dollar through bulk purchasing and food rescue.

The event arrives at a demanding moment for the region’s anti-hunger network. Feeding South Florida, the largest food bank serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, serves more than 1.7 million people through a network of over 200 partner agencies, according to the organization.

The Summer Squeeze

Summer is consistently the leanest season for food banks. More than 300,000 South Florida children rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year, and when campuses close, families must replace those meals at home, CBS12 reported. Feeding South Florida sponsors the USDA Summer Food Service Program, providing meals to children at Summer BreakSpot sites and pop-up pantries in low-income communities, and distributes thousands of food-filled backpacks through the summer months.

Demand has outpaced supply at times. The organization has publicly warned of shortages of both money and food amid what it called an unprecedented increase in need, CBS Miami has reported — pressure that makes signature fundraisers like the 5K more consequential than their modest entry fees suggest.

September’s Hunger Action Month, a national campaign organized by the Feeding America network, gives the food bank a platform to convert awareness into volunteers and recurring donors heading into the fall. The West Palm Beach-area race joins a calendar of Feeding South Florida events that carry the organization through its busiest season, which peaks with holiday distributions in November and December, according to the group’s events calendar.

Registration for the Sept. 19 race is open through the organization, with proceeds directed to hunger relief across the four-county service area.