Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation Announces Generous Gift to Saint Luke's Hospital

Bloch Family Foundation commits $12 million to support neuroscience programs and outcomes research

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Saint Luke's Foundation announced today a $12 million gift commitment from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation to Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City. The funds are designated for the Saint Luke's neuroscience programs and outcomes research. The gift is the single largest donation ever received by Saint Luke's.

In recognition of the gift, and to honor her life-long service to community, Saint Luke's Health System will recognize its Neuroscience Institute as the Saint Luke's Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute.

"We are deeply honored by this generous gift," said Melinda L. Estes, M.D., president and CEO of Saint Luke's Health System. "The Bloch family has a rich history of giving in Kansas City and through their philanthropic efforts they have touched and improved countless lives. Saint Luke's is grateful for their support and we are proud to partner with them as we continue to bring the highest quality of health care to the community."

Well-known philanthropists in Kansas City, Henry and Marion Bloch and the Bloch family have had a longstanding history of supporting Saint Luke's Hospital and Saint Luke's Health System services. In recent years, Henry and Marion committed the first lead gift of $3 million to the Campaign for the New Saint Luke's, which helped revitalize the Saint Luke's Hospital campus near the Country Club Plaza, a $1.5 million gift to establish an endowed chair in gastroenterology, and $1.5 million for Saint Luke's liver disease management and transplant clinic, as well as support for many other Saint Luke's programs and projects. Henry is a former director of the Saint Luke's Hospital board, and a trustee emeritus of the Saint Luke's Foundation board.

"Saint Luke's Health System is a Kansas City institution which shares a history of community giving and one whose work the Bloch family is pleased and proud to continue to support," said Henry Bloch. "It is my hope that this gift will allow the Saint Luke's Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute to continue to expand and continue to serve as a leader in high quality neurological care for the Kansas City community and the entire Midwest region."

The gift will support expanded programming for the Saint Luke's Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute, whose performance in neurology and neurosurgery was recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report, and for Saint Luke's internationally-recognized center for outcomes research. 

"This tremendous gift from the Bloch family is a testament to the quality care Saint Luke's is committed to providing to the community," said Tom Wagstaff, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Saint Luke's Health System. "The Saint Luke's Health System Board of Directors is immensely grateful to the Bloch family for their continued confidence, support, and generosity. We are privileged to be the recipient of a gift that will enable us to continue to expand the highest quality of neurological care services to the Kansas City community."

Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation
Established in 2011, the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation is focused on the Kansas City metropolitan area. Striving to build on Marion and Henry's vision and values to improve the quality of life in their hometown, the family foundation supports efforts in the areas of post-secondary business and entrepreneurship education, health care, social services, education for low-income, underserved youth, visual and performing arts, and Jewish organizations. In addition, special emphasis is placed on three organizations to which the founders have made lifelong commitments of  support. These organizations are the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, and the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Thanks to a remarkable vision, an uncommon determination, and extraordinary humanitarianism, Marion and Henry Bloch have achieved both success and significance. Through their family foundation, they continue to have a lasting impact on future generations. 

Saint Luke's Health System
Saint Luke's Health System consists of 10 area hospitals and several primary and specialty care practices, and provides a range of inpatient, outpatient, and home care services. Founded as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, our mission includes a commitment to the highest levels of excellence in health care and the advancement of medical research and education. The health system is an aligned organization in which the physicians and hospitals assume responsibility for enhancing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of people in the metropolitan Kansas City area and the surrounding region.

SOURCE Saint Luke's Health System