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NYU Langone Health
Celebrates $2 Billion in Transformational Support
at the First Violet Ball Since 2019
NYU Langone Health celebrated
over $2 billion in donor support since 2019 at its
first Violet Ball in that same time period, returning for
the event to New York City’s iconic Metropolitan Museum of
Art on Wednesday, November 1. This extraordinary
giving—which includes twenty separate contributions of $10
million or more—helped NYU Langone meaningfully advance
medicine in the face of a pandemic, and gain widespread
recognition as the nation’s leading health system for
quality and safety.
Five new gifts were announced at the marquee event, totaling
hundreds of millions of dollars.
“What matters most is what these funds will allow us to do,”
said Ken Langone, chair of the Board of Trustees. “And
that’s continue to blaze the brightest trail to eradicate
disease, develop new technologies, and get the leaders here
who will save lives and uplift communities.”
Nearly $1 billion
of the health system’s support in the past four years is
unrestricted, with the donor relying entirely on NYU Langone
to designate how it should best be spent. Flexible funding
at this level is rare, and a clear sign of a giving
community’s trust in NYU Langone’s leadership and ability to
put philanthropic dollars to best use.
Honoring the Bezos Family’s Impact on Healthcare in Brooklyn
The night’s honorees were Jackie and Mike Bezos and the
Bezos family, who are longtime supporters of NYU Langone and
its ever-growing commitment to improve health where the
needs are greatest.
“What first brought Jackie and Mike to our doors was a
powerful alignment with our central promise: to deliver one
standard of outstanding care for everyone,” said NYU
Langone’s Dean and CEO Robert I. Grossman, MD. “Their
partnership has grown tremendously over time, and at the
height of Covid and a very low point for our city and
especially its poorest neighborhoods, they linked arms with
us to effect lasting change.”
The Bezos family’s most recent transformative $166 million
gift—made with little fanfare in 2021—has allowed NYU
Langone Hospital—Brooklyn and the Family Health Centers at
NYU Langone to launch the Beyond Bridges initiative,
enabling deep integration of community-based and clinical
efforts to galvanize the health and wellbeing of diverse
populations across the Sunset Park community. This dynamic
model for community-wide health improvement in Sunset Park
addresses social determinants of health and key drivers of
health inequities.
“Jackie and Mike care only about their impact,” said Ken
Langone.
“I have never met two people who want less of the spotlight
on them. They are far too focused on shining light on
others.”
The Beyond Bridges initiative has already united leaders
from across the institution, the Family Health Centers
network, and some of Brooklyn’s most influential and
embedded community-based organizations. This powerful
network of individuals is reimagining NYU Langone’s research
and clinical trials infrastructure and approach to medical
education, training community members for healthcare
careers, and removing barriers to effective care.
Among those in attendance to celebrate the family’s
contributions were Jackie and Mike Bezos’s son, Mark, who
spoke on his family’s behalf, and Lisa Bezos.
“If my parents see potential in your vision, your ethics,
your leadership, and most importantly, your commitment to
those you serve, they are in it for the long haul. They’re
not just making a bet; they’re building a legacy,” said Mark
Bezos.
“We set out to establish a new healthcare model that we hope
will be replicated in communities across the country,” said
Mike Bezos. “There is an enormous amount of work to be done,
and NYU Langone Health is all in and paving the way.”
NYU Langone consistently receives top quality and safety
accolades from independent arbiters of patient care, who
base their ratings on performance measures from across the
entire health system. NYU Langone is recognized by Vizient,
Inc., as the No. 1 comprehensive academic medical center and
the No. 1 ambulatory system for quality and safety in the
United States. The health system has 10 clinical specialties
ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News & World
Report, including the No. 1 ranking for neurology and
neurosurgery. NYU Langone also consistently receives “A”
ratings on the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade and five-star
ratings for safety, quality, and patient experience from the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“NYU Langone’s culture of excellence is pervasive, and
visible in every part of its mission,” said Fiona
Druckenmiller, co-chair of the Board of Trustees and
the Violet Ball, who has made transformative unrestricted
gifts with her husband, Stanley, in the past two years to
further
NYU Langone’s national leadership as an integrated academic
medical center.
“NYU
Langone Health stands out as a resource for the highest
quality medical care, and as a destination of hope,”
said Laurence D. Fink, co-chair of the Board of Trustees and
the Violet Ball.
Along
with his wife, Lori, Larry made a recent foundational gift
to create the Lori Fink Breast Cancer Innovation Fund at
Perlmutter Cancer Center and add to the institution’s
overall research endowment.
Funds raised at The Violet Ball itself will also increase
NYU Langone’s research endowment
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