Sue and Terry McGraw meet with Jonathan Fine, MD (left), Director of Medical Education at WCHN, to review plans for the new McGraw Family Center for Advanced Learning. (Courtesy photo)

The McGraw family, founders of global multimedia publishing company McGraw-Hill, is continuing its legacy of investing in community health by pledging up to $3 million in a challenge gift to establish the new McGraw Family Center for Advanced Learning at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut.

Norwalk Hospital is one of three hospitals in the Western Connecticut Health Network, which was recently approved by the State of Connecticut as a clinical branch campus of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. UVM medical students have already been training there for the past two years.

Of the McGraw family’s $3 million pledge, $2 million is in the form of a challenge grant to encourage community support by having individual donations matched dollar for dollar. The hospital’s fundraising goal for the project is $5 million.

Featuring a modern health science library, state-of-the-art medical simulation facilities, and dedicated space for group and distance learning, the new McGraw Family Center will provide Norwalk Hospital with an optimal learning environment for tomorrow’s 

More than 1,300 students, residents, and fellows in healthcare disciplines, such as internal medicine, radiology, nursing, pharmacy and social work rotate through Norwalk Hospital annually from institutions throughout the region. This number is expected to grow with the Network's new status as a clinical branch campus of the UVM Larner College of Medicine, which makes it the state’s newest medical school. In addition to serving the learning needs of the next generation of healthcare providers, the new learning center will be the nexus for training current hospital staff in state of the art practices and interdisciplinary care.

“We believe the ongoing education of our entire staff is essential to high-quality care at Norwalk Hospital and across our Network,” said John M. Murphy, M.D., president and CEO of Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN), which includes Norwalk Hospital. “This project will modernize our teaching and learning facilities to keep pace with new technology and clinical advancements. It will also enable us to combine the latest in life-saving technologies with the medical expertise and personalized care the community has come to rely upon.”

The McGraw Family Center is the second major gift to Norwalk Hospital championed by the McGraw family. In 2015, Harold W. “Terry” McGraw III, Robert “Bob” McGraw, and Suzanne “Sue” McGraw made a transformative $10 million gift in memory of their parents to build the Anne P. and Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Center, the largest expansion project in the Hospital’s nearly 125-year history. The Center houses the Bauer Emergency Care Center, the C. Anthony and Jean Whittingham Cancer Center, the James F. Guthrie, MD Center for Digestive Diseases, the Ambulatory Surgery Center, and the Christian J. and Eva W. Trefz Lobby.

“Much of our Foundation’s focus is on promoting education,” stated Sue McGraw. ”Through this cutting-edge facility, and with programs and curricula that place value on teamwork and clinical skills, the goal of the new Center is ultimately to improve the safety and quality of patient care.”

“According to Norwalk Hospital President Michael Daglio, the new McGraw Family Center for Advanced Learning would not be possible without philanthropic support. “Thanks to the McGraw family and its exceptional commitment to our Hospital and the greater community, we can build upon our 50-year legacy of learning and innovation. This extraordinary gift from the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation will bring Norwalk Hospital’s learning facilities to the forefront of educational practice.”

About Norwalk Hospital
Norwalk Hospital is a progressive, patient-centered regional teaching hospital serving residents of southwestern Connecticut and adjacent New York. The 328-bed acute care, not-for-profit hospital offers cardiovascular, cancer, orthopedic, neurologic and digestive disease care with advanced diagnostics, innovative therapies and state-of-the-art surgery. The Hospital’s mission is advanced through philanthropic donations to the Norwalk Hospital Foundation.

About Western Connecticut Health Network
Western Connecticut Health Network is the region’s premier, patient-centered health care organization serving residents of Western Connecticut and adjacent New York. The organization is anchored by three nationally-recognized hospitals, Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk Hospital, and their affiliated organizations. The continuum of care offered includes numerous Western Connecticut Medical Group medical and sub-specialty practices, home health care services, a nationally renowned biomedical research institute, the Danbury Hospital & New Milford Hospital Foundation, the Norwalk Hospital Foundation and other affiliates. For more information, visit WCHN.org.