Citadel CEO Ken Griffin just donated $50M to Baptist Health. What it means for patients

Billionaire, philanthropist and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has donated $50 million to go toward research and care at Baptist Health South Florida for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Griffin’s gift, the largest single donation in Baptist Health South Florida’s nearly 65-year history, is expected to help the not-for-profit hospital system expand research capabilities at its Miami Neuroscience Institute and improve patient care, leaders of the hospital and its foundation say.

“This extraordinary gift is a visionary contribution to the well-being of current and future generations in South Florida and beyond,” said Bo Boulenger, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “We are enormously grateful to Mr. Griffin for this generous donation, which will further strengthen our position as one of the nation’s leading centers for neuroscience.”

The gift, announced Tuesday at a news conference, will help Baptist build a new neuroscience center, equipped with the latest technology, on the Kendall campus of Baptist Hospital, officials say. Griffin’s gift comes just weeks after he made a similar donation to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami to help with cancer research.

“Baptist plays a key role in Miami. You cannot have a world-class city without world-class healthcare,” said Griffin, noting that Baptist’s neuroscience program ranks among the top 1% of programs in America, “demonstrating that Baptist’s leadership delivers on its goals.”

“And Baptist’s success is Miami’s success,” he said.

Baptist’s Miami Neuroscience Institute, which last year ranked in the Top 40 of neuroscience centers in the nation, provides care for complex neurological conditions, including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and Parkinson’s.

Baptist leaders say the new Kendall center, which will be named the Kenneth C. Griffin Center at Miami Neuroscience Institute, will serve as the institute’s hub and provide space for researchers to conduct studies and for doctors to care for patients under one roof. The building’s groundbreaking will be in 2025 on the main campus at North Kendall Drive and 89th Avenue. Baptist expects the building will open in three years.

“The scale of Ken Griffin’s philanthropy is a new level for Miami,” said Alexandra Villoch, the former publisher of Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald who is now CEO of Baptist Health Foundation. His investment in healthcare, she said, will drive “transformation” and help Baptist hire and retain top doctors.

Hospital officials are hopeful that the center’s research and innovation will lead to “critical advancements” in patient care at a time when Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases are on the rise and demand for care is at “an all-time high.”

Miami-Dade County, for example, leads the nation in the percentage of people 65 and older who have Alzheimer’s disease, a memory-robbing condition that has higher rates among Hispanic and Black populations, according to research published last year in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“We are on the cusp of new discoveries, global breakthroughs right here at Baptist Health. ... It is a pivotal moment in our fight against neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava during the news conference, noting that many families are affected by neurological diseases, including her own. Levine Cava’s father had dementia. He died at Baptist in 2021 at 87 after falling ill with COVID-19.

Donation to Baptist ‘life-changing’ for patients

Baptist patient and 22-time Grammy and Latin Grammy award-winner Sebastian Krys, who on Friday will hit five years since he was diagnosed with Parkinson disease, believes Griffin’s donation will be “life-changing” for people like him who are living with neurological diseases.

Argentine-born Krys, who grew up in Miami and now lives in Los Angeles, is an audio engineer and record producer who began his career working at Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s Crescent Moon Studios in Miami-Dade. He’s worked with famous artists throughout his career, including Luis Fonsi, Shakira, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. He was 48 and his “career was thriving” when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a disease that affects the nervous system.

Krys, who spoke at the conference, said finding the right care for his condition wasn’t easy. He went through six neurologists until his brother, who is part of the Baptist Health Foundation, recommended he visit Dr. Diego Torres-Russotto in Nebraska, who Baptist was in the process of recruiting. He did.

And Torres-Russotto, who is now the chair of neurology at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, changed his life, Krys said.

Krys said he was functional for about five hours a day. With the help of Torres-Russotto, in less then a year, Krys said he was experiencing “13-14 hours a day where I felt back to my normal self” and is now able to work, travel and enjoy life with his family.

“It’s doctors like him that gives us hope,” said Krys, CEO of Rebeleon Entertainment.

Baptist is already researching brain science treatments, such as using focused ultrasounds to temporarily open or disrupt the barrier that surrounds the brain in areas where there’s an abnormal build-up of Alzheimer-causing proteins. But Griffin’s gift will help the hospital potentially double or triple its research capabilities, especially now that it’s set to be the teaching hospital for Florida International University, Boulenger told the Miami Herald after the conference. Griffin’s donation will also help the hospital hire and retain top doctors.

“Mr. Griffin’s support will propel Baptist Health into a new era of clinical and research excellence, enabling us to push the boundaries of neuroscience research and deliver cutting-edge treatments,” said Dr. Michael McDermott, chief medical executive of the Miami Neuroscience Institute. “This support is instrumental in advancing neuroscience research, and I hope it will inspire others to join us on this journey. Mr. Griffin’s gift positions our clinicians to redefine the landscape of neurological care in ways that will advance the field and, most importantly, drive impact for our patients.”

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Ken Griffin donates millions to South Florida hospitals

Griffin, who was born in Daytona Beach, is the founder of Citadel, which is considered to be one of the most successful hedge funds in history. He relocated Citadel’s headquarters to Miami from Chicago in 2022 and has been on a real estate shopping spree in South Florida.

He’s also big on philanthropy and founded Griffin Catalyst, which reflects his philanthropic “strategic approach to tackling the world’s greatest challenges.” He has six philanthropic priorities — education, science and medicine, communities, upward mobility, freedom and democracy, and enterprise and innovation.

The Florida-born businessman, 55, has donated more than $2 billion to charities. And has recently begun to zero in on helping South Florida hospitals since moving to the 305.

Earlier this month, the Citadel CEO donated $50 million for research and development of new cancer treatments at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. Last year, he donated $25 million to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital near South Miami to help improve care for pediatric patients. Sylvester and Nicklaus are also naming new facilities after him.

Baptist says the $50 million gift is one of the largest Griffin has made in Florida and is considered to be one of the 10 largest healthcare-related philanthropic gifts in the state over the last decade.

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