COURTESY PHOTO
From left, Dr. David Torchiana, CEO of Partners HealthCare, Dr. David Roberts, president of NSMC, Arthur Epstein and Brian McCarthy, members of the NSMC Board of Trustees, celebrate Epstein’s historic gift to NSMC.
MARBLEHEAD – Longtime resident Arthur J. Epstein has pledged $5 million to the North Shore Medical Center (NSMC), the largest donation in the hospital’s 144-year history.
The gift will be used to build a behavioral health center at the Salem campus. NSMC will name the new facility in Epstein’s honor when it opens in the fall of 2019.
“Many families face mental health or addiction issues and they often struggle to find high-quality care,” said Epstein in a statement. “I’m proud to support the Center’s efforts to address this dire need in our health care system. 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 Brookline resident, Epstein lived with his family in Marblehead for more than 50 years. He made his first major gift to the Center in 2002, followed in 2007 by a $1 million donation to support the Massachusetts General Hospital/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers.
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Last fall, NSMC broke ground on a $207 million complex to consolidate 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 behavioral health facility. It will be aligned with Massachusetts General Hospital and add two dozen beds to the region for psychiatry and behavioral health. It is designed to integrate addiction treatment with inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, mental health services and further development of community-based programs.
Epstein is an entrepreneur and investor who began his career with Midas Muffler in 1965, eventually holding 30 New England locations. A partner in the real estate firm Cres Development, Epstein was also a member of numerous corporate boards, including Malden Trust Co., 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 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 next year.