April 20, 2007

Redstone donates $35M for MGH research and patient care

The MGH is one of three health care organizations to benefit from a $105 million gift from Sumner M. Redstone, executive chairman of Viacom and CBS Corporation (left), to fund research and patient care advancements in burn recovery and cancer. The generous $35 million contribution is the largest single gift in the MGH's history and will be paid out over five years. FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions and Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center are the other recipients of Redstone's donation.

Redstone has been a longtime supporter of the MGH. In the early 1980s, the MGH Burn Center was renamed The Sumner Redstone Burn Center in recognition of his contributions. The new funds will enhance the hospital's ability to treat burn and trauma patients and others who come to the MGH for emergency care. The gift will be used to create The Sumner M. Redstone Burn and Trauma Service, an endowed fund that will support advances in patient care and promote innovative approaches and creative problem-solving in burn and trauma research.

The funds also will support research and training at The Sumner Redstone Burn Center, which will be relocated and expanded. The new center will boost inpatient capacity, improve the quality of patient care and enhance the staff's ability to provide essential outpatient follow-up care. Additionally, the gift will reconfigure and enhance the MGH Emergency Department, which will be renamed The Sumner M. Redstone Emergency Department. The larger emergency facility will allow faster and more immediate treatment and reduced waiting times through the introduction of a Rapid Intervention System, an innovative means for streamlining emergency care.

Redstone, who has personally benefited from the advancements in research and medical science forged at the MGH, has been an active contributor for many years. His gifts come through the Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation. "I know that there is so much more to be done, and with the right resources in the right hands, we can make even more rapid progress and literally change the world," he says. "I am pleased to renew my longstanding support of the innovative research of Dr. John Burke and the heroic work of the Burn Center at the MGH and to extend my involvement to its Emergency Department.

Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, says, "Sumner Redstone has long been a generous partner and a good friend to the MGH. For many years his thoughtful support has helped thousands of burn patients receive the highest quality care. By supporting new research and training initiatives, Mr. Redstone's gift will extend the MGH's expertise well beyond the hospital's walls, benefiting patients throughout the nation and the world."

Redstone also announced that he intends to make additional grants in the future.