Newswise — Jack Weinberg, chairman of the Gottlieb Memorial Foundation, announced a Foundation gift of $10 million to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (GMH), part of the Loyola University Health System (LUHS). The gift will be used to transform two inpatient care units, completely renovate the intensive care unit (ICU) and perform significant upgrades to the hospital’s cancer center, which bears the name of Weinberg's mother, the late Marjorie Gottlieb Weinberg.

During a reception announcing the $10 million gift, Lori Price, FACHE, MSA, RN, president, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, shared the significance of the generosity and legacy of David and Dorothy Gottlieb, grandparents of Jack Weinberg. The Gottliebs founded the hospital more than 50 years ago, sharing their passion to give back to their community.

“The Gottliebs believed greatly in their vision of ministering to their fellow man and made it their mission to invest in the development and growth of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital,” Price said. “David and Dorothy continued to share their success with the community long after Gottlieb accepted its first patient, and that vision lives on through their extended family.”

To honor that legacy, Weinberg, who follows in the footsteps of his father, Judd, and his late mother, Marjorie, as an active member of the Board of Directors, announced the remodeled ICU would be named for his late uncle Alvin Gottlieb. Weinberg also commented on the partnership between the Gottlieb family and Loyola University Health System.

“My grandfather built two synagogues, one reform and one conservative, and my uncle spent more than five decades making Gottlieb Memorial Hospital what it is today,” Weinberg said. “Now, through our affiliation with Loyola, we truly have a place for everyone in our community.”

Larry Goldberg, president and CEO, LUHS, echoed Weinberg’s sentiments and shared his vision for the future of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital.

“We want Gottlieb to be the best community hospital in the Chicagoland area and, with the generosity of the Gottlieb Memorial Foundation and continued vision and legacy of the Gottlieb family, it will be,” Goldberg said.

Approximately $7.5 million of the $10 million gift will be used to completely remodel the ICU. The unit treats medical and surgical patients, including open-heart surgery cases. Renovations budgeted at $1.2 million will convert 40 double-occupancy rooms on the hospital’s fifth and sixth floors to 20 private patient rooms, which can be flexed to double-occupancy when additional capacity is needed. The remaining $1 million will fund significant upgrades to the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center at Gottlieb.

Construction is planned to be completed in 2015.

As part of Loyola, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital offers independent medical practitioners as well as academic-level specialists to care for families in the greater Melrose Park, Oak Park and River Forest area.

Since the 2008 merger of Gottlieb with LUHS, Loyola and the Gottlieb Memorial Foundation have invested in numerous capital improvements, including unit refurbishments, renovation of the labor and delivery area and the remodeling and expansion of the waiting room.

The Gottlieb Memorial Foundation Board, many of whose members attended the event, was created at the time of the Loyola affiliation and funded with $75 million to support future health initiatives at Gottlieb. In addition to his role as foundation chairman, Weinberg is a member of the LUHS board of directors and was presented with the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service by Loyola. The medal recognizes Weinberg’s exemplary philanthropic support, advocacy, community outreach and volunteerism.

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