Boca Raton Regional Hospital Celebrates Historic Groundbreaking

Boca Raton Regional Hospital launched its vast campus transformation project today with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new 972-space parking facility with direct access to the Hospital as part of Keeping the Promise…The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital. The parking facility is the first of a number of significant projects that will allow the Hospital to continue to expand its capabilities in delivering the highest quality patient care in our region.

“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony is a significant occasion for all of us because it signals the beginning of a remarkable transformation for the Hospital,” said Jerry Fedele, President & Chief Executive Officer of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. “We are starting to implement plans on a vision that we’ve been developing for years and will result in the most ambitious expansion in our history. Efficient access to this new and dramatically enhanced Boca Raton Regional Hospital is of paramount importance, so the parking facility is a vital first step.”

In January, the hospital launched Keeping the Promise… The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital, the largest fundraising initiative in the Hospital’s long history, which has already raised $120 million toward its goal of $250 million. This amount is highlighted by eight-figure philanthropic gifts to date from six long-tenured members of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital family, including Stanley and Marilyn Barry and the Barry Family Foundation, Louis B. and Anne W. Green, Christine E. Lynn – E.M. Lynn Foundation, Billi and Bernie Marcus - Marcus Foundation Inc., Richard and Barbara Schmidt – SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION, and Elaine J. Wold. The Schmidts’ $10 million gift was directed toward the development of the new parking facility.

“We appreciate the value of this project to our patients and visitors,” said Richard Schmidt, former Chair, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Corporate and Hospital Board of Trustees. Richard and his wife, Barbara, have been steadfast supporters of the hospital through their SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION, gifting the Schmidt Family Center for Breast Cancer and the Schmidt Family Pavilion at the Marcus Neuroscience Institute, among others. “Our goal is always to improve the lives of others and the campus transformation initiative will do that. The parking facility is an important component in this effort because people must have easy and convenient access to our facilities and services.”

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on the Boca Raton Regional Hospital campus. In addition to the Schmidts, the program featured remarks from Stanley Barry, Chair, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees and Co-chair, Keeping the Promise Campaign; Scott Singer, Mayor of Boca Raton; Jerry Fedele, President & CEO, Boca Raton Regional Hospital; Christine Lynn, Chair, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Corporate and Hospital Board of Trustees and Co-chair, Keeping the Promise Campaign, and Mark Larkin, CFRE, President, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation.

“We are thankful to all our donors who have come forward with great support to help fund our Keeping the Promise campaign,” said Mr. Barry. “But today, in particular, we celebrate the Schmidts for whom this parking facility will be named. Their patronage to our Hospital, passion and resources have contributed to Boca Regional’s recognition as an outstanding tertiary medical center - for this we are deeply grateful.”

The groundbreaking of the parking facility officially kicks off the construction on the Hospital expansion project. Several other key components will follow upon completion of the parking facility, including the new 180,000 sq. ft. seven-story Gloria Drummond Patient Tower, which is the centerpiece of the campaign. The tower will feature an expansion of the surgical suites, an inviting patient lobby, and three floors set aside for future growth. The Marcus Neuroscience Institute will make targeted staff and capital investments over the next five years in all neuroscience programs with an emphasis on neurovascular/stroke, central nervous system tumors, spinal conditions and epilepsy/seizure disorders. In the current hospital building, all existing rooms will be converted to private in a comprehensive renovation and a 20-bed Observation Unit will be added. These investments are the initial steps toward an even broader vision for the campus over the next decade with greater access points and growing clinical capabilities.