Palace founders donate a record $30M to FIU medical school. How will it be used?
Philanthropists Helen and Jacob Shaham donated $30 million this week to Florida International University’s medical school, the largest gift in the college’s 20-year history, to help expand and improve medical education, research and patient care.
The Shahams are the founders of The Palace Group, a senior-living provider that got its start decades ago as a 21-bed assisted living facility in Opa-locka.
“This is a landmark moment in the history of Florida International University,” FIU President Jeanette M. Nuñez said in a statement. “Helen and Jacob Shaham’s extraordinary generosity will further elevate the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and accelerate our vision to build a world-class academic health center that transforms lives. Their investment is a testament to their belief in FIU and our role in transforming the future of health care.”
The gift was announced Tuesday shortly before FIU’s Board of Trustees, the group that serves as the university’s governing body, unanimously voted to name the school’s future seven-story academic outpatient medical center after the couple. The center, which is set to open in 2028 on the university’s Southwest Eighth Street campus in West Miami-Dade, will be managed by Baptist Health, South Florida’s largest not-for-profit healthcare system and FIU’s teaching hospital.
READ MORE: What patients and students should know about new FIU-Baptist Health teaching hospital
The Shahams, who moved to Miami from Israel 46 years ago, were highlighted this week during a “Miami Proud” segment by Miami Herald partner CBS News Miami for their philanthropic efforts and lifelong work in senior care. Their luxury senior-living operation has grown to include a nursing and rehabilitation center, at-home health and pharmacy services, and several nationally recognized independent and assisted living senior communities across South Florida, including in Coral Gables, Weston, Kendall and Homestead.
A ‘meaningful investment’ for South Florida’s future, philanthropists say
“We’re proud to support FIU’s College of Medicine and the role it plays in our community,” Helen and Jacob Shaham said in a statement. “Expanding access to education and preparing the next generation of physicians is a meaningful investment of the future of South Florida and beyond.”
Their FIU donation comes two years after they gave $15 million to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital near South Miami to expand pediatric cancer care and research. Nicklaus has since named its Cancer and Blood Disorders Institute after the couple.
The future Helen and Jacob Shaham Academic Medical Center will be at the corner of Southwest 107th Avenue and 11th Street on FIU’s main campus, across the street from the university’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work.
The center is expected to house “academic learning spaces and outpatient multi-specialty services, including same-day surgery, diagnostic imaging, infusion services” and a pharmacy, according to the university. It’ll serve as the academic medical hub for the FIU-Baptist partnership that was cemented in 2023 to improve patient care, increase research and bolster the region’s healthcare workforce as the country faces a growing shortage of doctors and nurses at a time when its population is aging and will need more care.
“This transformative gift empowers us to focus on what matters most—our students, scientific discovery and providing top quality health care,” said Dr. Juan C. Cendan, dean of FIU Medicine and senior vice president for health affairs at FIU.
“By expanding scholarships, we will create new opportunities for talented future physicians who both reflect and serve our community. With strengthened research support, we will drive breakthroughs that enhance patient outcomes. The Helen and Jacob Shaham Academic Medical Center will serve as a shining example of academic medicine and compassionate care.”
