Cedars-Sinai Receives $140M Gift—Largest in Its History

LOS ANGELES (March 27, 2023) — Cedars-Sinai has received a gift of more than $140 million—the largest gift in the hospital’s 121-year history—from the estate of longtime supporters Susanne and Ervin Bard. This gift will propel clinical and research innovation in the medical campus’ newest building.

The gift will name the Susanne and Ervin Bard Pavilion, home to internationally renowned institutes, centers and research facilities, including the Smidt Heart Institute and the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center.

The unprecedented gift will allow Cedars-Sinai to elevate and broaden its mission to provide unparalleled healthcare, advance biomedical discovery and educate future medical professionals for the benefit of Los Angeles and the world. The official ribbon-cutting for the Susanne and Ervin Bard Pavilion takes place on March 27. 

“The generosity exhibited by the Bards was extraordinary throughout their lifetimes and now as part of their legacy,” said Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai, and the Warschaw Law Chair in Healthcare Leadership. “This amazing gift has cleared new pathways to continue the pioneering research and thoughtful care that Cedars-Sinai is dedicated to delivering.”

Located in the heart of Cedars-Sinai’s main campus, the Susanne and Ervin Bard Pavilion is a 450,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art healthcare facility that opened in 2013. In addition to offering the highest quality of treatment through outpatient clinical care, Bard Pavilion laboratories and clinical areas generate groundbreaking translational research and medical expertise through the Neurosciences Program, along with the Smidt Heart Institute and Samuel Oschin Cancer Center.

“Our outstanding employees in every division of the pavilion work tirelessly to save lives every single day,” said James Lippman, chair of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Directors. “With the generous support of Susanne and Ervin Bard, we will continue to build on this abiding commitment to healing.”

Natives of Hungary, the Bards were longtime supporters of Cedars-Sinai and believed deeply in the Hebrew concept of giving known as tzedakah. Mrs. Bard spent years volunteering in various Cedars-Sinai departments, even after her husband’s passing in 2006. She passed away in 2021.

“The Bards have and will continue to touch the lives of so many of our patients through their generosity,” said Arthur J. Ochoa, JD, senior vice president of Advancement and chief advancement officer at Cedars-Sinai. “Cedars-Sinai is humbled and eternally grateful for this historic gift that allows us to allocate funds where needed most in the advancement of medical science and care.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Generations Ahead