For William “Bill” Bruen, Foundation for Morristown Medical Center trustee and chairman of the Brookfield Legacy Society Advisory committee, the subject of Morristown Medical Center is a point of pride. He has spent his life volunteering his time and generously donating to advance the growth of a hospital that feels like a second home to the 70-year-old Morristown resident. Bruen’s recent Healing Hands Award and donation to MidAtlantic Neonatology Associates (MANA) calls attention to the group’s medical expertise and extraordinary compassion. MANA’s performance is a shining example of the hospital’s mission: to deliver high-quality, safe, affordable patient care within a healing culture.

“The Healing Hands tribute to MANA is with heartfelt thanks for the compassionate care they deliver to our most fragile patients and their families daily,” said Bruen. “What they do is beyond health care. It is about the soul of our hospital and our community. They truly get it.”

It may be easy for Bruen to spot this level of commitment since it’s how he has approached his relationship with Morristown Medical Center for the last 40 years as a donor, friend and volunteer. When he returned from the Navy in 1979, he brought the discipline, drive and stamina he learned in the military to his commitment to the hospital in his various roles as a philanthropist and volunteer. “I took this role seriously,” he said. “From day one, I was very impressed with Morristown Medical Center, and when the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) first opened in 1982, I was first on board to give tours.”

Since then, Bruen hasn’t stopped his duties as an ambassador to the hospital, spreading the word about the many advancements, expansions and new programs to his friends, neighbors and colleagues at whatever chance he can get. “Prior to COVID-19, I used to give tours of the Maternity Department to acquaintances, friends and colleagues when they were first-time parents and grandparents,” said Bruen. “Even if they were not high-risk cases, they all wanted the assurance that Morristown Medical Center has a state-of-the-art facility that cares for the highest-risk babies in the metropolitan area if they needed it.”

Addressing the complex needs of sick infants and the emotional ups and downs that parents experience when their baby is in the NICU, Sam’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit combines the latest medical technology, individual patient/family rooms and a focus on family-centered care.

Gaines Mimms, MD, a neonatologist at Sam’s NICU and co-chair of the Goryeb Philanthropy Council, has been at Morristown Medical Center since 1984, working alongside Bruen for decades as he carried out his extraordinary volunteer efforts. “I have immense respect and affection for him,” Dr. Mimms said. “Bill Bruen has a vision of philanthropy far exceeding bricks and mortar. He embodies the power of philanthropy that can be transformative and inspirational. Due to the commitment, insight, and advocacy of four generations of Bruens as leaders in philanthropy at the hospital, Morristown Medical Center and Sam’s NICU are nationally recognized today as centers of excellence in healthcare.”

This longtime Morristown resident’s passion for Morristown Medical Center seems to trickle into every aspect of his life. Recommending the hospital to his colleague, Bonnie Bravo, at UBS Financial Services, Inc., Bruen was pleased that she had an outstanding patient experience at the NICU when her son, Max, was born at 33 weeks. “I know how meaningful it was for Bonnie when she could sense that the physicians were going above and beyond for her son,” said Bruen, senior vice president at UBS, located in Morristown, NJ. “This sense of compassion starts at the top and is created by Trish O’Keefe, president of Morristown Medical Center. Her tremendous sense of caring filters down to each physician and nurse. It has become endemic to the entire organization. It is one of the reasons why the medical center is the number one hospital in New Jersey, recognized by US News & World Report for five years in a row. No matter how big and prestigious the medical center becomes, our hospital has a soul as big as its reputation, if not bigger.”

Honor one or more of Morristown Medical Center’s team members with a Healing Hands Award, today.