Philanthropy

Investing in the Future of Medical Education

An investment in the School of Medicine is an investment in the future of health care.

In June 2021, Hackensack Meridian Health celebrated the commencement of our inaugural class of graduate students from the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. This would not be possible without support from those who share our vision. Gifts to this groundbreaking curriculum fund scholarships and fellowships for students, curriculum development, faculty support, labs and facilities and vital resources for emerging needs.

With your help, we will create a medical school that makes a difference for everyone, ensuring inclusiveness in enrollment which results in a student body more reflective of our diverse communities. Please join us in this bold journey.

Ways You Can Give

The School of Medicine welcomes support in many areas, including medical education, faculty recruitment and facility development.

Medical Education Scholarships

The School of Medicine’s goal is to attract a diverse student body with a passion for serving others, the resourcefulness to problem-solve, a collaborative spirit and the desire to innovate. To attract students of this caliber, the School of Medicine must offer need- and merit-based scholarships to help cover the cost of tuition and expenses. While the costs are significant - covering curriculum development, faculty preparation and teaching time, medical-education research and infrastructure (such as our state-of-the-art teaching facility, library resources and IT and lab equipment) - Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to ensuring that every student interested in becoming a physician has the opportunity.

Endowments

You, your family, your company or firm can become part of the history being written by the School of Medicine. Endowments are visionary gifts that extend support beyond your own lifetime, representing true foresight and care for future generations.

Planned Gifts

When you include a gift to the School of Medicine in your estate plan, you help us provide the best educational opportunities for the health care leaders of tomorrow. You can support future generations of medical students through charitable trusts, gift annuities, sales of property and other unique opportunities that can benefit you, your loved ones and the medical school. Our staff is ready to help you create a philanthropic strategy that is tailored to meet your financial needs.

Directed Gifts

Donors to the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine have the opportunity to choose many avenues to direct their support. You can choose to help a specific program or project, or you can make an unrestricted contribution to support the immediate needs and priorities chosen by the Dean.

Areas where your gift can be directed include:

• Faculty Support: Professorships are one of the highest forms of recognition provided by the School of Medicine. They are used to attract, reward and retain distinguished faculty, leaders and scholars of national and international reputation.
• Research: One of the hallmarks of a medical education is the chance to conduct research alongside renowned physician scientists. The School of Medicine offers students the chance to be part of teams searching for innovative methods to diagnose, cure and prevent illnesses, as well as impact health policy, health education and more, at times resulting in students having articles published before they graduate.
• Curriculum Growth and Development: The school has built  a forward-thinking medical education program that is creating physicians who are humanistic, socially responsible, cooperative members of the health care system, and who provide the highest quality care to all people. Our graduates will continue to be highly skilled in biomedical, behavioral, social and population sciences. Gifts to support the curriculum ensure that they have the resources necessary to learn what is needed to thrive in the modern, technically demanding, clinical setting.

Interprofessional Health Sciences Campus

Housed in a state-of-the-art facility straddling both Nutley and Clifton, the School of Medicine offers instruction in a facility designed with modern learning spaces. Rather than lecture halls, students learn in  flexible classrooms and learning studios equipped with the latest technology to support hands-on learning, including clinical exam and procedure rooms and an expansive high-fidelity simulation center that mimic what students will find in hospitals and outpatient settings. A gift to support the facility will help to sustain an enriched learning environment for our students.

Special Programs

Human Dimension

Central to the curriculum is a longitudinal course called the Human Dimension. Through immersive experiences over 36 months, students come to understand the community’s role on health and wellbeing, as well as the physician’s place in promoting health and preventing disease. From day one, students partner with community members and help care for these individuals and families to better understand their health needs and how their health and wellbeing are impacted by forces such as their community, housing and employment status.

Pipeline Program

Changing the racial, cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic profile of the medical profession to better reflect the population it serves is critical to a vision of health and wellness for all persons. The school is dedicated to identifying, nurturing, recruiting, mentoring, teaching and developing a unique student body through several  pipeline programs.

• M.I.N.D.S. (Medical Internship Navigating Diversity and Science) is a 6-week paid internship for underrepresented or financially disadvantaged high school juniors and seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
• The Hackensack Physician Pipeline Program (HPPP) is a free, two-week summer program created to support a group of 20-30 rising junior and senior college students interested in pursuing a career as a physician. This program connects pre-health students to physicians through workshops, volunteer experiences and clinical exposures.
• Each fall, a program modeled after the NIH’s “Mini-Medical School” initiative, offers free weekly sessions to high school students who are introduced to medical center leadership, physicians and clinicians, and who attend health care presentations to learn how to prepare themselves for health care careers.