Calling it a noble gift from a remarkably noble man, Holy Name Medical Center CEO Mike Maron celebrated a $75 million donation from the Douglas M. Noble Family Foundation Monday morning in Teaneck.
The gift is believed to be the largest to a Catholic hospital in history — and the second largest to any hospital in the state.
Maron said it will enable to Holy Name, one of the last remaining Catholic hospitals in the state, to continue its mission for years to come — and enable a medical center that always has outpunched its weight class to provide an even higher level of care in the days, months and years to come.
“All the areas that we focus on healing, on making the world a better place because we are here, this gift now gives us that ability to move forward,” he said.
The gift was the latest — and greatest — from a family foundation that was created in memory of Noble, a gifted neuroradiologist, who owned and served as the Medical Director of The Imaging Center at Morristown, before he passed away in 2019 at the age of 58.
Maron said the gift will accelerate innovation and new scientific discovery, advance capital projects, fund medical education and allow the hospital to achieve a future that was previously only a vision.
“This transformational gift is not just about its remarkable size; it’s about the profound impact it will have on Holy Name’s ability to tackle some of the most critical healthcare challenges facing our community in the decades to come,” he said.
“With this extraordinary support, we can expand access to specialized care through initiatives such as our Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, address the ongoing physician shortage by launching our Graduate Medical Education program, and bring state-of-the-art technology to clinical services – including a groundbreaking neuroendovascular institute.”
The foundation was started in 2022. And, after making a few smaller donations, Doug’s mother, Joan Noble, decided to give nearly all of the funding to Holy Name.
The event was held on the anniversary of Noble’s passing – and during the 100th year of the institution.
“Joan Noble and her trustees’ decision to make this monumental gift during Holy Name’s 100th anniversary symbolizes an enduring investment in our institution and our mission,” Maron said. “The potential impact is limitless – enhancing patient care, fueling medical innovation, attracting the best physician talent, and allowing us to continuously grow and adapt in line with our core values of compassion and healing.”
Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D, 9th district), N.J. State Senators Joseph Lagana and Paul Sarlo and Department of Health Acting Commissioner Jeff Brown, attended the event.
Pou said the gift reflected the impact Holy Name has long had on its community.
“There are few gifts anywhere as large as this one, but there are few institutions anywhere as deserving of receiving a gift of this size as Holy Name,” she said. “This historic gift will give Holy Name and their staff and caregivers vital support at a timely moment.”
Sarlo agreed.
“This does not happen in a vacuum,” he said. “This family doesn’t make this contribution to any institution. It made it to Holy Name because when you walk into this place you feel like you belong. You are rooted in that Catholic mission. This gift is a compliment to each and every individual in this hospital. The work you do, day in and day out, ensures folks receive the care they need with gifts like this.”
Maron knows the impact of the gift.
“Everything that we do is about the legacy of Holy Name, not for the past 100 years, but for the 100 years yet to come,” he said.
The fact it came from Noble – who lived humbly despite doing incredibly well in the market – spoke volumes, he said.
“It has been said that a community grows stronger when ordinary people act in extraordinary ways,” he said.
Joan Noble said she was delighted to play a part.
“My son was a very special person,” she said. “Not only to me, as his mother, but also to the people in his world of medicine. Doug was an intelligent, dynamic individual sharing so much — energetically and with integrity and love. The impact he made on his patients, the dedication he had for physicians he taught in the hospital, in academics, in his medical centers, in addition to legal environments where he was valued for his knowledge, insight and focus on excellence — all is significant and memorable. I respectfully wanted to take that energy and money he earned, which started his foundation, and turn it into helping those in need.”
Holy Name Medical Center was a perfect fit, she said.
“It became clear to me in order to make Doug’s legacy endure beyond any one individual’s or organization’s memory, including my own, I needed to give the gift that was Doug’s to a place that would appreciate it – and him; one that would turn his compassionate vision into reality in a way that he would endorse,” she said.
“It was a challenging journey, but through Father Roy Regaspi and prayer, I was blessed to be introduced to the people and mission of Holy Name. It is here at Holy Name where I found Doug’s legacy would live on.”
