NYU Lutheran Medical Center Announces $25 Million Gift, New Name

Pamela Wong -
Leaders from NYU Langone Health and NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn with Jackie and Mike Bezos of the Bezos Family Foundation at NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn

Sunset Park’s NYU Lutheran Medical Center (150 55th Street) announced that it received a $25 million gift from the Bezos Family Foundation this week and has changed its name to NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn.

Mike and Jackie Bezos, the parents of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, made the contribution to the hospital to support major initiatives that will help mothers, children, and families in Brooklyn. The gift will provide long-term funds for initiatives that advance mother–baby care at the hospital and support families during the first years of a baby’s life.

The gift will help establish programs that support family health and child development for babies born at the hospital, giving parents access to parenting groups as well as early childhood development experts.

The funds will also allow for continued assistance for families after they’ve been discharged from the hospital, including access to community-based programs and support from community health workers.

By 2018, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn will deliver approximately 4,500 babies annually, welcoming more than 600,000 visits per year to its nine Family Health Centers—a majority of these visits will be for prenatal and infant healthcare.

Jackie and Mike Bezos read to children and families at NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn (Photo by NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn)

“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,”  Jackie Bezos, President of the Bezos Family Foundation, said in a statement.

“This is a wonderful community and our hope is for them to experience care that is greater than they have ever had before,” added Mike Bezos, Vice President of the Foundation.

With these new efforts, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn will be able to assist more families in Brooklyn and tailor its mother–baby programs to have the best outcomes, according to the announcement.

Founded in 2003, the Bezos Family Foundation invests in research, public awareness, and programs to elevate the field of education and improve life outcomes for children. The organization has had a ten-year philanthropic history with NYU Langone, contributing to various early childhood programs at the institution throughout the years.