NEW JERSEY – Danny DeVito, filmmaker, actor, comedian, and New Jersey native, has donated $500,000 to advance health care at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Through the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center Foundation, the generous gift will support the core funding for the medical center’s most urgent needs for its current and future patients.
“We are so grateful to Danny DeVito for his confidence and support in the high-quality innovative care we provide at Jersey Shore University Medical Center,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “Danny truly understands the powerful impact that philanthropy has on health care, and for him to give back to the community where he grew up – and to the hospital he was born at – means so much. With his support, we can continue our mission to transform health care and be a leader of positive change in New Jersey.”
DeVito, who grew up in Asbury Park, was born at the former Raleigh Fitkin-Paul Morgan Memorial Hospital, now Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
You probably know him from the television series Taxi portraying taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma, which he won him a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. DeVito also plays Frank Reynolds in the FX and FXX sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Around the shore, you can spot DeVito on multiple billboards as he’s also the star of Jersey Mike’s Subs commercials.
“We take such pride in the care we provide to our patients and surrounding communities,” said Vito Buccellato, MPA, LNHA, president and chief hospital executive at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “Gifts made to Jersey Shore University Medical Center are instrumental in allowing us to continue providing the high-quality care that our patients have come to expect. On behalf of our team members and patients at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, we thank Danny DeVito from the bottom of our hearts.”
“What an honor it is to receive this gift from the one-and-only Danny DeVito to advance care for our patients in central New Jersey at Jersey Shore University Medical Center,” said Kenneth Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, regional president of the Southern Market at Hackensack Meridian Health. “We are committed to providing the most cutting-edge and quality care to our patients, and philanthropic support, like Danny’s, allows us to reach new heights. We are so appreciative of his support.”
“This heartwarming gift from Danny DeVito will benefit the communities we proudly serve at Jersey Shore University Medical Center today and for years to come,’’ said Joyce P. Hendricks, president and chief development officer at Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation. “We are so thankful for his incredible generosity, which will enable us to continue delivering compassionate care to those who need it the most.”
For the past three years in a row, Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center has been named to Healthgrades’ America’s 250 Best Hospitals. This places them in the top 5% of hospitals nationwide.
“Danny DeVito, a great friend of mine, truly understands how important quality health care is and how philanthropy can make all the difference,” said Peter Cancro, founder and CEO of Jersey Mike’s Subs. “It’s been such a pleasure to reintroduce Danny, a fellow New Jerseyan, to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. This very community is the same one that supported both of us growing up and we both believe in giving back to the communities that support you.”
To learn more about how you can support the Greatest Need Fund at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, visit GiveHMH.org/JerseyShore or contact Paul Huegel, vice president of Development, Southern Market, at paul.huegel@hmhn.org.
