Building the Model of Healthcare for the Future

As co-founder of The Home Depot Inc., Bernie Marcus is often recognized for helping people complete their home-improvement projects. But through their leadership of the Marcus Foundation Inc., he and his wife, Billi, have also helped countless people by supporting a vast array of medical, educational, religious, and other community causes.

In January 2014, Mr. and Mrs. Marcus committed to helping Jefferson reimagine healthcare by providing a $14 million grant to establish Marcus Integrative Health at the Myrna Brind Center–Villanova, the first satellite location of the Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine at Jefferson.

“Jefferson is at the forefront of innovating integrative medicine—a transformation I want to be part of,” Mr. Marcus says.

The 14,000-square-foot facility in Villanova, Pennsylvania, has accommodated a growing number of clinical experts, laboratories with advanced diagnostic capabilities, a state-of-the-art nutrient infusion center, and various wellness programs and products.

The Marcus grant has helped Jefferson revolutionize the patient experience by enabling the purchase of a PET-MRI (positron emission tomography–magnetic resonance imaging) machine, which combines an MRI with molecular imaging to give radiation-free images that precisely align a patient’s anatomy and metabolic activity.

In February of 2019, the Marcus Foundation committed an additional $20 million for our University to establish the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, the first of its kind in academic medicine. Jefferson has been a key player in bringing integrative medicine into the mainstream by building a comprehensive program that has been ahead of its time. This funding brings the Foundation’s support of Jefferson’s integrative health initiatives to $45 million. We are deeply grateful for their ongoing support.