Key Takeaways
- EvergreenHealth announced a $100 million gift from the estate of Dean Weidner on September 28, 2026, the largest donation in the community-owned system's history.
- The gift will fund planning for a new patient-care tower on EvergreenHealth's Kirkland, Washington, campus to expand access and capacity.
- It is the third US health system in a single month to announce a record gift, after Providence's $1.1 billion and Hackensack Meridian Health's $125 million.
EvergreenHealth has received a $100 million gift from the estate of Dean Weidner, the largest in the Kirkland, Washington, system's history. The public hospital district announced the gift on September 28, 2026. It will fund planning for a new patient-care tower on EvergreenHealth's main campus.
EvergreenHealth is the trade name of King County Public Hospital District No. 2, a community-owned system governed by an elected board of commissioners and serving the Eastside suburbs of Seattle. The district said the money will support a future tower meant to expand access, increase capacity and keep more care close to home. Dean Weidner and his wife, Ana, had backed EvergreenHealth projects since 2019, and the gift names them both. Dean Weidner died in March 2026 at the age of 83, and Ana Weidner died in 2024.
Ettore Palazzo, the chief executive of EvergreenHealth, said in the announcement: "The timing of this gift is meaningful. After the community affirmed its support of EvergreenHealth through the Levy Lid Lift, Dean saw an opportunity to come alongside that trust with this investment in the future of community-owned health care." Voters had approved increased levy funding for the public hospital district in 2025.
What the records show
EvergreenHealth is a public hospital district rather than a charity, so it files no Form 990. What the gift can be measured against is the run of record donations to US health systems in the same weeks, and the fortune behind it.
- A record gift in a month of record gifts. The $100 million is the third nine-figure donation to a US health system announced within a single month, each called the recipient's largest ever. Hackensack Meridian Health announced a $125 million anonymous gift on September 14, and Providence announced a $1.1 billion commitment from Phil and Penny Knight on September 15. EvergreenHealth's $100 million is the smallest of the three, and the only one to a community-owned public district.
- The fortune behind it. Dean Weidner built Weidner Apartment Homes into a 74,667-unit portfolio across 14 US states and four Canadian provinces, one of North America's largest privately held multifamily firms. A $100 million gift is the kind of check that scale makes possible.
- Tied to a tower, not a budget line. The district framed the money as seed funding for planning a patient-care tower, not as a grant to cover operations. That keeps the gift restricted to capital expansion rather than filling recurring costs the levy and patient revenue are meant to carry.
A September of outsized gifts
The Weidner gift lands in a stretch of unusually large philanthropy. In the same month, hedge fund founder Ken Griffin pledged a record $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, the largest single gift to a US university. The run of nine- and ten-figure checks continues a pattern WYDE has tracked across 2026, including an anonymous family's record $50 million to Americares. What sets EvergreenHealth apart is the recipient. The others are elite universities, large private hospital networks and global aid groups. EvergreenHealth is a tax-supported district whose board is elected by the voters it serves.
Why it matters
Public hospital districts run on patient revenue and voter-approved property taxes, not on major gifts. A single $100 million donation is rare for a community district, and the system tied it directly to the levy voters approved in 2025 rather than to any one program. That framing matters. It casts the gift as capital for a building the district still has to plan and fund in full, not as money that closes an operating gap. The district has not yet put a total price on it.
Lori Kloes, EvergreenHealth's chief philanthropy officer, said in the announcement that the system is grateful to the Weidners for their generosity and partnership: "We are honored and humbled by the opportunity to memorialize Dean and Ana through a legacy that will serve patients and families for generations to come."
People Also Ask
How much did Dean Weidner give EvergreenHealth?
The estate of Dean Weidner gave EvergreenHealth $100 million, the system announced on September 28, 2026. It is the largest gift in EvergreenHealth's history.
Is the $100 million the largest gift in EvergreenHealth's history?
Yes. EvergreenHealth describes the $100 million gift as the largest in the community-owned hospital's history. The money will fund planning for a new patient-care tower on its Kirkland campus.
Who was Dean Weidner?
Dean Weidner was the founder and chairman of Weidner Apartment Homes, which he built into one of North America's largest privately held multifamily companies. He died in March 2026 at the age of 83.
What will the EvergreenHealth gift pay for?
EvergreenHealth says the gift will fund planning for a future patient-care tower on its Kirkland, Washington, campus, meant to expand access, increase capacity and support care close to home.
Sources: GlobeNewswire, Daily Journal of Commerce, The Registry, Hackensack Meridian Health, PR Newswire.