In its 100th year of operation, Holy Name Medical Center received the greatest gift in its history Monday. New Jersey’s only independent Catholic health system announced a historic $75 million gift from the Douglas M. Noble Family Foundation to support the future growth and expansion of services for the health system.
Holy Name said it is the largest gift to a Catholic hospital in the United States and the second-biggest donation made to a hospital in New Jersey. The Record of North Jersey said the largest single gift to a New Jersey hospital was a $100 million donation in 2021 given to the former Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston from the Cooperman Family Foundation. The hospital was subsequently renamed Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.
The funds 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 health-care challenges facing our community in the decades to come,” said President and CEO Michael Maron.
He said the hospital will be able to expand access to specialized care through initiatives such as its Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, address the ongoing physician shortage by launching its Graduate Medical Education program, and bring state-of-the-art technology to clinical services – including a neuroendovascular institute.
“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.”
At the special event to announce this gift and honor the legacy of Dr. Doug Noble, a well-known and highly regarded neuroradiologist who owned and was medical director of The Imaging Center at Morristown before the succumbed to cancer in 2019 at age 58: his mother, Joan; U.S. Rep. Nellie Pou; New Jersey state Sens. Gordon Johnson, Joseph Lagana and Paul Sarlo; Assembly Members Ellen Park and Chris Tully; Bergen County Executive James Tedesco and Commissioner Tracy Zur; Teaneck Township Manager Jaclyn Hashmat; and New Jersey Department of Health Acting Commissioner Jeffrey A. Brown.
“Joan’s primary goal was to ensure the Noble Foundation assets, earned through Doug’s hard work, would truly make a long-term difference,” explained Cathleen Davey, president of the Holy Name Medical Center Foundation. “She sought to honor Doug’s legacy by funding excellence, redefining possibilities and expanding access. After meeting with many organizations, receiving numerous proposals, and much prayer, we are extremely honored that she chose Holy Name.”
Joan Noble explained her decision by saying, “My son was a very special person. 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.”
Noble continued, “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. It was a challenging journey, but through Fr. 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.”
Holy Name is New Jersey’s only independent Catholic health system, comprising a 361-bed acute care hospital, a cancer center, a residential hospice, a nursing school, and an extensive physician network.
