Mayo Clinic Receives $60 Million Gift for Patient Tower

Today’s Philanthropy News Digest is reporting that the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has announced a $60 million gift from philanthropist Helene Houle in support of efforts to transform the delivery of health care in Minnesota.

In honor of the gift, the recently completed 430,000-square-foot tower at Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester, Saint Mary’s Campus, will be named after Houle’s husband, John Nasseff, who died in 2018 on his ninety-fourth birthday.

According to the Digest

The family are longtime supporters of the medical center. Nasseff’s youngest son, Arthur, had lifesaving surgery at Saint Mary’s Hospital as a teenager in the 1960s, and over the years Nasseff and Houle made several gifts to Mayo in honor of his surgeon, Burton Onofrio, as well as other physicians who have cared for the family.

Reacting to the gift, Mayo President and CEO, Gianrico Farrugia, said, “John Nasseff and Helene Houle have had a significant impact on Mayo Clinic over the decades of their support. We are incredibly grateful to Ms. Houle for this generous gift, and we cannot think of a more fitting way to honor Mr. Nasseff.”

Helene Houle added: “When I go to Mayo, I know I’m going to receive the best care possible. There’s a special human touch that gives you confidence in knowing you are getting the answers you can trust.”

Prof. Vaughn E. James, Texas Tech University School of Law