NBA legend, Michael Jordan, is donating $10 million to open two new medical clinics in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina.
The clinics, slated to open in 2022, will serve the uninsured or underinsured residents of New Hanover County, according to a news release from Novant Health, a regional health care system.
“Everyone should have access to quality healthcare, no matter where they live, or whether or not they have insurance,” he said in a statement.
“Wilmington holds a special place in my heart and it’s truly gratifying to be able to give back to the community that supported me throughout my life.”
This is not the first time Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets, has stepped up to help his community. In 2017, Jordan committed $7 million to Novant Health to open two clinics in Charlotte.
The donation came with a pledge to provide resources to communities with little or no health care. The first Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic opened in October 2019.
Last year, it served as a Covid-19 screening and testing site, providing more than 13,000 tests. Last October, the six-time NBA champion again partnered with Novant Health to open a second medical clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
To date, Novant Health said the two Charlotte clinics have brought primary care, behavioural health and social support services to the area’s most vulnerable communities, seeing more than 4,500 patients and administering almost 1,000 Covid-19 vaccines.
Novant Health said Jordan’s latest donation will help “bring this same integrated care model to more rural and rural-adjacent communities in his hometown.”
“This pandemic has exacerbated health equity gaps across our state, making our efforts to close them even more emergent. We look forward to standing these clinics up as quickly as possible to ensure all members of the community have access to necessary medical care,” Carl Armato, president and CEO of Novant Health, said in a statement.
“We are so appreciative of Michael’s unwavering commitment to help us bring affordable care to our communities that need it most. It’s not only an investment in us as a partner, but it’s an investment in each and every person that our clinics can reach.”
Novant Health said it has now received a total of $17 million from Jordan, dedicated to developing clinics.