Couple Who Suffered Through COVID-19 Makes Largest Donation in GLFHC’s History

The Horn family of Reading has helped Greater Lawrence Family Health Center close out its capital campaign. Pictured, from left, are Diane Martin, senior vice president chief pharmacy services; Richard Napolitano, chief strategy officer; Dr. Guy Fish, president and chief executive officer; and Bernard and Lorraine Horn. (Courtesy photograph.)

A couple, who both contracted COVID-19 early in the pandemic, are showing their gratefulness to Greater Lawrence Family Health Center by making the largest private donation in the institution’s history.

Bernard and Lorraine Horn turned to the Health Center when a vaccine first became available several months after their ordeal. They were able to schedule an appointment quickly and close by at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center where a family member now worked as a pharmacist.

“I was struck with the diligence and quality of care by the staff,” Mr. Horn said. “My professional due diligence ‘radar’ was triggered as I realized the vaccination staff work for a high performing organization where top management must have set the tone for the standard of care and service.”

The family member, Danielle (Silva) McManus, originally from Methuen, had recently joined GLFHC and played a significant role in providing the vaccine at GLFHC’s Haverhill Vaccine Clinic in Central Plaza.

Reaching out to express gratitude for the care they received, the Horns learned about the health center’s $3.5 million “Keeping the Promise Capital Campaign” from Chief Strategy Officer Rich Napolitano, who led the organization’s campaign along with his team. Napolitano shared with them the campaign aimed to renovate the Health Center’s flagship 34 Haverhill St., Lawrence. The project would provide better access to both pharmacy and medical services and create a more efficient and complete academic environment for its Lawrence Family Medicine Residency Program.

The health center was close to reaching its goal, and the Horns decided to close the gap with the largest single private donation in the health center’s history.

“We were impressed with the breadth of the medical care that must be delivered to a truly diverse community across the full socio-economic spectrum,” Mr. Horn said. “Diversity and inclusion are the very fabric of their communities and their history and it shows in how the community works together.”

Napolitano called the Horns’ gift “transformational,” noting, “The Horns’ support of our Keeping the Promise Campaign has allowed us to complete our building project which is focused on expanding what we do best—providing better access to comprehensive health care and creating a better learning environment for our nationally acclaimed Lawrence Family Medicine Residency program.” Napolitano said the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency Education Center will be named in the Horns’ honor once the project is completed.

Mr. Horn is president and portfolio manager of Polaris Capital Management, a Boston-based global and international value equity firm. Horn founded Polaris in April 1995 to expand his existing client base dating to the early 1980s. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at MIT.

Mrs. Horn is a registered nurse and remembers the beginnings of community health centers in Boston in the 1960s and their important evolution over many decades. She is a graduate of the Bridgeport School of Nursing and earned her BSN from University of Massachusetts, Boston.  Mrs. Horn’s nursing career includes ICU and CCU assignments at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center, recovery room staff at Harvard Community Health Plan Hospital, Private Health Care Systems and Lahey Clinic Medical Center.

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