The Princeton Medical Center (PMC) Foundation hosted a gathering at the hospital recently to dedicate the Diane W. Burke Welcome Lounge, a landmark in the PMC atrium that was renamed in recognition of a generous gift from the Burke Foundation.
A generous donation from the Burke Foundation was effectively doubled to $500,000, thanks to matching funds provided under a challenge grant pledged last year by philanthropist Betty Wold Johnson to mark the centennial of Penn Medicine Princeton Health.
The Burke Foundation’s gift established the Diane W. Burke Endowed Fund for Nursing Excellence, which will support the advancement of nursing practice in the Center for Maternal & Newborn Care at Princeton Medical Center (PMC).
Sheila Kempf, RN, PhD, vice president, patient care services/chief nursing officer (CNO), said the funding from the Burke Foundation and Betty Wold Johnson will help launch a new era of nursing innovation at Princeton Health.
“These gifts enable us to ensure that our nurses remain prepared to meet healthcare’s ever-changing needs,” Kempf said. “We plan to establish a Center of Nursing Excellence that will provide continuing education, conduct research, and test innovative concepts for new models of patient care.
The Burke Foundation, based in Princeton, was established in 1989 by the late James E. Burke, longtime CEO of Johnson & Johnson, and his wife Diane, an artist and philanthropist known to friends and family as Didi. Burke family members are longtime residents of the Princeton community and supporters of the hospital and health system.
“The Burke Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children,” said James Burke, son of James E. Burke and president of the foundation. “Our strategy is rooted in early investments and interventions to promote children’s development, health, and well-being, and this gift is a perfect example. Our partnership with the Princeton Medical Center will enhance the knowledge and skills of maternity nurses to support ongoing, high-quality, consistent care for a safe, healthy pregnancy and childbirth experience for mothers and positive developmental outcomes for their children.”
In recognition of the Burke Foundation’s gift, Princeton Health renamed the Welcome Lounge — a central landmark in the atrium at PMC — for Diane Burke.
“We are grateful not only for this gift but also for the Burke family’s long history of fostering better lives for children in the communities we serve,” said Barry S. Rabner, president and CEO of Princeton Health. “This gift presents an opportunity for us to build on our tradition of nursing excellence.”
The PMC Foundation, which supports clinical care at PMC and other divisions of Princeton Health, is working to raise funds from the community dedicated to supporting nursing care across the health system. The Burke Foundation gift brings the total raised to $550,000. For reaching that milestone, the PMC Foundation received the first $500,000 in matching funds that were pledged in the Centennial Challenge Grant established last fall by Betty Wold Johnson. When the PMC Foundation reaches a total $1 million in fundraising, it will receive an additional $500,000 in matching funds.