James Taylor and his wife Kim have donated $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in support of the institution’s efforts battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Their donation will support MGH’s President’s Emergency Response Fund, which was initially established in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, and will help the hospital purchase supplies and equipment, establish a coronavirus hotline for patients, repurpose space to accommodate new patients with the virus, continue research, including in-house testing, for treatments to prevent and fight COVID-19, and expand its telemedicine capabilities.
“The generosity of James and Kim Taylor will not only help Mass General respond to this outbreak but will also provide a meaningful morale boost to our caregivers, the many staff who support them, and the scientists who are working to defeat this scourge,” MGH President Dr. Peter L. Slavin said in statement.
The Taylors have deep ties to MGH. Not only was James born there, but his father, Isaac, completed his residency in internal medicine at the hospital, after earning his degree at Harvard, and served as its chief resident. In 2016, the Taylors also performed at an event benefitting MGH’s Cancer Center and helped raise $2.6 million.
For the past five years, Kim Taylor, who calls the pandemic an “unprecedented time of deep concern,” has also served on the board of MassGeneral Hospital for Children.
“The MGH is a place that is looked to for leadership—clinical, scientific and ethical—in humanity’s fight against the danger that is around us,” said Kim Taylor. “We are proud to support a medical center that is leading the way on so many fronts.”
The third oldest hospital in the U.S., MGH serves more than 50,000 inpatients 1.5 million outpatients and emergencies annually and works with more than 8,5000 researchers under MGH Research Institute each year.
As of March 24, MGH is already treating 29 patients who tested positive for COVID-19, according to a recent report, and more than 100 people who are under investigation for the virus.
“There is no question that it’s a point of pride for New Englanders to claim the MGH as their hospital—our hospital—and this is especially true today with the threat coming from a new and insidious virus,” said James Taylor in a statement. “Kim and I want to be part of this fight. We have been so inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the health care heroes in the trenches who are working so hard to protect us all.”
