Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research announced last Friday a $25 million donation from Leonard and Susan Feinstein, for whom the institution was renamed in 2005 after an initial $25 million gift, according to statement from the institute.
The additional funds will allow the organization to expand its research efforts in areas including clinical trials, neuroscience, autoimmunity and bioelectronic medicine, the statement said.
“The research taking place across all of Northwell Health – particularly bioelectronic medicine – can revolutionize the way medicine is practiced,” said Leonard Feinstein, who is the co-founder and co-chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond. “In this promising area of research, we are realizing useful applications and results now and within five to 10 years, we will see cures for some of the most confounding human diseases in our lifetime. Not many research initiatives show that kind of promise.”
The Feinsteins’ motivation to support Northwell’s research efforts stems from a major brain injury suffered by their son in an automobile accident 35 years ago, which occurred at a time when there were few long-term health care solutions that could handle his needs, the statement said.
“Life-saving techniques to keep you alive got so much better, but the deficits you were left with posed a significant challenge for those responsible for caring for you – or you were just put into a nursing home,” Feinstein said.
The Feinsteins’ experience with their son sparked the beginning of their philanthropy dedicated to improving the health care delivery system, the statement said.
Their early support in 2000 helped establish the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Center for Neurosciences.
“We wanted to give where we thought we could make a difference – for a resource that wouldn’t exist unless we stepped in to help,” Leonard Feinstein said. “Dedicated neuroscience research had never been done at Northwell Health (then North Shore-LIJ Health System) on the scale we imagined, so we stepped in to make that happen 11 years ago.”
“Susan and Leonard Feinstein’s ongoing generosity is a testament to the advancements we have made in science, medicine and curing disease,” said Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health. “Northwell established the research institute in 1999, and Leonard and Susan have been with us for each critical step as we’ve grown.”
