Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan make $75M donation to San Francisco hospital

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Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan make $75M donation to San Francisco hospital

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Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg arrive at the 2nd Annual Breakthrough Prize Award Ceremony at the NASA Ames Research Center on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014 in Mountain View, California.
Image: Peter Barreras/Associated Press

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have donated $75 million to the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, making what’s believed to be the largest private gift from individuals to a public hospital in U.S. history.

The money will go toward completing The General’s acute care and trauma center, which will open in December 2015, helping convert the existing building into an ambulatory care facility. It will also be used to fund new technology and equipment.

The facility will will be renamed the Priscilla and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

The donation builds on an earlier investment made by the San Francisco community in 2008 when voters approved a $887.4 million bond to develop the new trauma center.

The Zuckerbergs’ donation was inspired by Chan’s time working at the San Francisco General Hospital.

“Through my training at The General, I know firsthand the vital health care and trauma services this hospital provides to anyone who lives, works or travels through San Francisco,” she said in a release announcing the donation. “Day in and day out, I witness the compassion and dedication of my colleagues, as they work tirelessly to deliver the best available care to all of our patients. Mark and I are proud to support such an important public hospital.”

Zuckerberg expressed his support for The General, saying, “The Bay Area is our home, we work here, we live here, and we want to invest in efforts that can make a difference in people’s lives here.”

The new trauma center will be a “green” building that will reduce water and energy use. It is also seeking LEED Gold certification.

This isn’t the first time the Zuckerbergs, who married in 2012, have made considerable donations. Last October, they donated $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation to fight the Ebola outbreak, and in May, they gave a $120 million pledge to support low-income school districts in the San Francisco and San Jose areas. Zuckerberg has also given $100 million to the Newark public school system.

Last year, Forbes reported that Zuckerberg is worth $34 billion.

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