Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi Donate $3 Million to Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine

On Oct 16, 2017

Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi were honored at Carnegie Hall recently for their $3 million donation to the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.  The generous donation will establish the Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi Scholarship Fund at New Jersey’s only private medical school, which is scheduled to welcome its first class next year pending preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

“New Jersey and the nation are facing a critical physician shortage, which is why it is so important to bring and keep future health care leaders in New Jersey,” said Dr. Mingi Choi and Mrs. Heather Choi.  “That is why we established the Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi Scholarship Fund at the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine to attract the best and brightest to New Jersey.  As New Jersey’s only private medical school, the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine will play a vital role in educating tomorrow’s physicians and shaping the future of medicine.”

As steadfast patrons of the arts, Dr. and Mrs. Choi were honored at the World Choral Festival, which Mrs. Choi co-produced, at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall on Sunday evening.  The World Choral Festival is a benefit concert hosted by the GWB International Foundation that brings musicians and choirs like the Grammy Award-winning choir Jubilation to Carnegie Hall.  The concert, which the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation is honored to be a part of, is also serving to bring attention to the cause of children battling with pediatric cancer.  Patients and their families from the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital were invited to attend the Festival free of charge.  Dr. and Mrs. Choi’s late son, Eugene, who suffered from a brain tumor was treated there.

“I would like to thank Dr. and Mrs. Choi for their generous donation to the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine,” said Robert C. Garrett, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “Dr. and Mrs. Choi understand that the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine is instrumental in educating tomorrow’s leaders and innovators.  Thanks to their incredible support, we will be able to carry out the important work of training the country’s brightest young medical minds in a unique, team-based approach that will change the way we deliver health care. “

Dr. Mingi Choi is a physiatrist, partner and principal at Somerset Orthopedic Associates, PA.  He graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital.  Dr. Choi is board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, a Fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and member of the International Spinal Injection Society and North American Spine Society.  He is also a clinical instructor at the Somerset Family Practice Residency Program and the youngest former chairman of the Flushing YMCA.

“It is truly fitting that this extraordinary gift was announced at such an event, as Dr. and Mrs. Choi have a tremendous dedication to both music and medicine,’’ said Jon Fitzgerald, president of Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation. “I have known Dr. and Mrs. Choi for many years, and this amazing gift is another demonstration of their longstanding and steadfast devotion to our community.  We are extremely grateful for their commitment to the medical leaders of tomorrow,”

“On behalf of the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, I would like to thank Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi for their incredible generosity,” said Dr. Bonita F. Stanton, founding dean, Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “We are eager to welcome our first class to the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.  I look forward to working with community leaders like Dr. and Mrs. Choi to make New Jersey’s only private school of medicine a success by transforming health care delivery, research and education.”

“It is an honor to establish the Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi Scholarship Fund at the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine after two dedicated and accomplished community leaders,” said Dr. Jeffrey R. Boscamp, associate dean of Medical Education Continuum, Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “Dr. and Mrs. Mingi Choi are tireless advocates of the arts, education and health care, and over the years they have had a profound impact on the community around them.  Their donation to the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine will help pave the way for creating a team-based approach that will focus on population health and delivering coordinated, collaborative care.”

The new medical school – the first private medical school to open in New Jersey in 50 years – is located at the former Hoffmann-LaRoche site in Nutley and Clifton.

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