Kesslers Establish Center of Excellence at Partners
Philanthropists Howard and Michele Kessler are well-known for their benevolence toward the less fortunate. In March of this year, they unveiled a plan to improve healthcare for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations – both here and abroad.
The Kesslers announced a $6 million gift to create the Kessler Center of Excellence at Partners HealthCare to propel exciting projects locally and globally. The center will specifically fuel two initiatives at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), another at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and another at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).
“Using their tremendous insight and experience, the Kesslers will strengthen our existing programs, while guiding the creation of new ones,” said BWH President Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD. “They will shape the future of global health, save and improve the quality of countless lives, and leave an indelible legacy in the world.” The Michele and Howard J. Kessler Directorship for the Center for Surgery and Public Health at BWH will support a leader to guide the hospital’s Center for Surgery and Public Health. Resources will also expand and enhance the center’s programs, which help bridge the alarming gap that divides public Michele and Howard Kessler Division of Public and Community Psychiatry. The chairholder acts to provide services for those suffering from severe and persistent mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, the challenges of immigration, homelessness, and multiple trauma.
Finally, Dana-Farber will boost the potential of the Michele and Howard Kessler Fund for Global Initiatives, and help health and surgical quality, safety, and access – whether in the developing world or here in the United States.
Also at BWH, the couple is funding the LifeBox project, a planned, pooled purchasing group directed by renowned surgeon, author, and safety advocate Atul Gawande, MD. Hospitals and clinics in poor communities throughout the world can use LifeBox to secure group-rate costs for lifesaving medical equipment like oxygen monitors. The Kessler gift will build the foundation for the project so that it can become self-sustaining within five years.
The Michele and Howard J. Kessler Chair in Public and Community Psychiatry will support the work of MGH’s DFCI address disparities in cancer research, care, and training in the developing world.
At BWH alone, the Kesslers have already shown extraordinary leadership, responsible for gifts that created the Kessler Health Education Library, the Kessler Family Cancer Suite, the Kessler Family Waiting Room, and the Michele Kessler Women’s Health Leadership Fund, just to name a few. “Howard and Michele Kessler are truly dedicated to finding innovative ways to help those in need in the US and abroad gain safe access to healthcare,” said Gary Gottlieb, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Partners HealthCare. “We look forward to bringing these wonderful projects to life.”