Giving Stories

North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) today announced that longtime Marblehead resident Arthur J. Epstein has committed a gift of $5 million to NSMC in support of the Medical Center’s plan to build a new behavioral health center at its Salem campus. The gift is the single largest donation in the 144-year history of the hospital.

Photo caption (from left to right): David Torchiana, M.D., CEO of Partners HealthCare, David Roberts, M.D., President of North Shore Medical Center, Arthur Epstein and Brian McCarthy, both members of the NSMC Board of Trustees. They are seen at an event celebrating Epstein’s historic gift to NSMC. 

NSMC will name the new center, scheduled to open in the fall of 2019, in Epstein’s honor. “North Shore Medical Center is deeply grateful for Arthur Epstein’s extraordinary support,” said NSMC president David Roberts, M.D. “There is increasing demand for behavioral health services across the country and throughout local communities here on the North Shore. Arthur’s generosity will enable NSMC to build a state-of-the-art facility to provide much needed care to the children, adults and seniors of this region.”

Last fall, NSMC broke ground on a $207 million project to consolidate hospital-based medical, surgical, behavioral health and emergency care on one campus in Salem. As part of this project, NSMC is converting the former Spaulding Hospital North Shore into a 90-bed facility dedicated to behavioral health. The facility will be aligned with Massachusetts General Hospital and add 24 new beds to the region for psychiatry and behavioral health care. It will integrate addiction treatment with inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, mental health services and further development of community-based programs.

“Many families face mental health or addiction issues and they often struggle to find high-quality care,” Epstein said. “I’m proud to support North Shore Medical Center’s efforts to address this dire need in our health care system, and I’m grateful that North Shore families will have a place to go where they are assured their loved ones will receive excellent care.”

Now a resident of Brookline, Epstein previously lived with his family in Marblehead for more than 50 years. He made his first major gift to the Medical Center in 2002, followed in 2007 by a $1 million donation in support of the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers.

Epstein is an entrepreneur and investor who began his career with Midas Muffler in 1965, eventually holding 30 locations in New England. A partner in the real estate firm Cres Development, Epstein was also a member of numerous corporate boards, including Malden Trust Company, now Eastern Bank, and Portland Glass. He has served on NSMC’s Board of Trustees since 2006.

Epstein is a supporter of many nonprofit organizations, including Boston Children’s Hospital, The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Combined Jewish Philanthropies and Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott. Earlier this year, he pledged $5 million to Cohen Hillel Academy, a K-8 Jewish independent school located in Marblehead. In recognition of this gift, the largest in the school’s 62-year history, the school will be renamed The Arthur J. Epstein School in the summer of 2017.

 “Arthur has been a great friend to North Shore Medical Center and our patients for many years,” Roberts said. “He wants to make a positive difference in people’s lives, and with this gift, that’s exactly what he’s doing.”

To learn more about NSMC’s campus consolidation project, visit nsmc.partners.org/healthier-north-shore

NSMC (North Shore Medical Center) is a multi-site health system headquartered in Salem, Mass., which includes NSMC Salem Hospital, NSMC Union Hospital in Lynn, MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center, NSMC Heart Center, NSMC Women’s Center and the physician network known as North Shore Physicians Group. NSMC and Massachusetts General Hospital together provide care at the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care and the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers. NSMC is a member of Partners HealthCare, which was founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. #northshoremed