A recent gift of nearly $4 million to Mercy made the giver the largest individual donor in the health system's history.
The gift from The Meinders Foundation was celebrated Sept. 3 during a blessing and ribbon cutting for an expanded neurological care space at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. That expansion was also funded by the philanthropy founded by the late Herman Meinders.
"Herman Meinders was truly a giant in health care for Oklahoma," Steve Mackin, Mercy president and CEO, said in a media release about the donation. "His generosity, rooted in his Christian faith, benefits patients every day and will continue to do so for generations to come. Our caregivers are honored and blessed to be entrusted as custodians of his legacy."
The gift raised Meinders' lifetime giving to Mercy to more than $24 million, which makes him the largest donor across the five states Mercy serves.
The recent donation from the foundation will go to two projects. The Meinders Center for Movement Disorders will get $3 million to expand across the clinical space on the ground floor of the Meinders NeuroScience Institute on the main campus of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. New space on the third floor of the institute opened Sept. 8, funded by a $1 million gift from Meinders last year. The newest donation also provides $700,000 for a minimally invasive system for lung biopsies.
Meinders founded American Floral Services, which was an early success story in the international flowers-by-wire business. He died in March at 87.