Anonymous Donor Gives $125 Million to Hackensack Meridian Health

Historic donation, the largest in the network's history and the largest of its kind in New Jersey healthcare, will expand Jersey Shore University Medical Center — and honor the late John K. Lloyd

September 14, 2026 — Iselin, NJ — Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive health network, today announced a transformational $125 million gift from an anonymous donor — the largest philanthropic commitment in the network's history, the largest gift of its kind in New Jersey healthcare, and among the largest donations to any hospital or health system in the United States.

The gift will advance HMH's mission to bring the best nationally ranked care closer to the people and communities it serves by expanding Jersey Shore University Medical Center. The donor, who has requested anonymity, has asked that the gift honor the legacy of the late John K. Lloyd by naming a pavilion at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune after him. A dedication ceremony will take place in the future. John K. Lloyd was a visionary leader who spent more than four decades building Jersey Shore University Medical Center into one of the nation's premier academic medical centers and served as co-CEO of HMH with Bob Garrett. 

"In a year when the largest gifts in American healthcare have come from some of the most recognizable names in the country, someone chose to give $125 million and ask for nothing — no name on the building, no announcement, no recognition," said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health. "They asked us to honor John Lloyd instead. That tells you everything about what this gift is really about. As a not-for-profit network, we put every dollar we receive right back into caring for our communities. Hackensack Meridian Health is home to the #1 adult and children's hospitals in New Jersey and the #1 and only nationally ranked cancer center in the state. We save more lives than any other health network in New Jersey; our patients return home faster and are less likely to experience complications. This gift allows us to keep getting better, every single day, for the families who count on us. And naming the John K. Lloyd Pavilion is deeply personal for all of us — John's fingerprints are on everything we have built together."

The donor hopes this gift will inspire others to make philanthropy a priority. It arrives in the midst of the most ambitious fundraising effort in New Jersey healthcare history. In 2021, the Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation launched Be the Difference, a transformative campaign to innovate healthcare with a goal of raising $1 billion. To donate, visit GiveHMH.org. 

"Philanthropy changes what is possible," said Joyce Hendricks, president and chief development officer, Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation. "A gift of $125 million — the largest in our history and the largest of its kind ever made in New Jersey healthcare — reflects a donor's deep confidence in our doctors, nurses, and other clinicians. It will help us expand access, advance the most sophisticated treatments available anywhere in the country, and ensure that world-class care is not something families have to travel far to find. It's already in their backyard."

The gift comes as HMH continues an unprecedented period of investment throughout the region.

Jersey Shore University Medical Center is the #1 hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties, according to U.S. News & World Report, and the only Level I adult and Level I pediatric trauma center in the area — the highest possible certification for trauma care. It is home to K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital, the #1 children's hospital in New Jersey, and to a Level III NICU, one of the highest levels of newborn intensive care.

As the fastest-growing hospital in New Jersey, Jersey Shore sees more than 100,000 emergency department visits each year and regularly operates at or near inpatient capacity. In response, HMH has committed more than $1 billion over 10 years through its Master Facility Plan for a new critical care tower, 24 new operating rooms, and expanded patient facilities.

HMH has also invested heavily in bringing care directly into the region, with large, multi-specialty Health & Wellness Centers in Eatontown and Freehold, robust primary care in Howell, and an additional Health & Wellness Center opening in Red Bank soon. At HMH Health & Wellness Centers, patients can access urgent care, annual checkups, specialists, imaging, labs, and pharmacy — all in one visit.

"These investments reflect a deliberate choice to stay rooted in the communities that depend on us," Garrett added. "Healthcare should strengthen communities — not weaken existing hospitals or abandon vulnerable patients."

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