A Transformational Gift: Enhancing Education for the Future

Mass General’s longstanding commitment to education has provided the model for academic medical centers around the world. Now, with the support of a recent $50 million transformational gift from The Lunder Foundation of Portland, Maine, Mass General is setting out to reinvent health care education and ensure revolutionary results for every patient.

The Lunder Learning Initiative strengthens MGH as a clinical “health care university” where the education mission supports the training of future providers, which supports better care for all patients.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to enhance education and quality of care across the institution and to serve as a local, regional, national and international resource for education,” says James Gordon, MD, MGH chief learning officer. “The expertise, history and support for teaching and learning at Mass General can be used to set a new global standard for prioritizing education to enhance patient care in the 21st century.”

This gift will enhance the training of future providers in all roles by supporting three major educational initiatives designed to strengthen and expand the ability to teach and learn: the Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Health Care, the Lunder Learning Hospital and the MGH Learning Endowment.

“I’m excited about this opportunity for all of us to work together, to be able to teach and learn together, to be able to fundamentally improve patient care at Mass General,” Gordon says. “This is a wonderful chance to highlight the importance of education in the provision of high-quality, safe, efficient patient care.

The MGH Learning Endowment

The MGH Learning Endowment will sustain the long-term impact of the Slavin Academy and the Learning Hospital. The inaugural $5 million endowment will provide programmatic resources and establish two faculty chairs: the David F. M. Brown, MD Endowed Education Academy Chair and the Lunder Family Endowed Education Academy Chair, which will become the James A. Gordon, MD Endowed Education Academy Chair when Gordon chooses to retire. This initial gift will launch a challenge to raise funds for additional education chairs in collaboration with each department, further expanding the hospital’s ability to support innovative teaching and research that will drive change in learning science throughout the health care field.

This transformative gift will strengthen and broaden educational opportunities for all health care learners, improve care for patients and reinforce the hospital’s legacy as a leading force in health education.

David F. M. Brown, MD
MGH president

The Lunder Learning Hospital

The Lunder Learning Hospital will serve as a large-scale, unified training ground for students, trainees and staff across the institution. Providers will train on lifelike simulators and instructional models with actors portraying patients, allowing for a space to practice and learn together in a safe environment. This mirrors real-life clinical experiences and models care across the system. The Learning Hospital will also include classrooms and collaborative spaces. The holistic training provided there will ultimately enhance expertise, reduce errors and promote compassionate, expert and equitable care across campus while also serving as a world-class resource to support learners and institutions throughout the region, across the country and around the globe.

The Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Health Care

The Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Health Care will serve as the institutional hub for this ambitious effort. Named in recognition of former hospital president Peter L. Slavin, MD, and his longtime commitment to education, this new center will support and develop teaching faculty across professions; foster educational innovation; explore and expand opportunities to introduce new practices and technologies; inspire and expand scholarship in the science of learning; and transform the landscape of interprofessional and systemwide medical education everywhere.