History of the Foundation

Akron City Hospital graduating class of 1899

The Summa Foundation has worked to support patient care, medical education and research through philanthropy since its inception in 1976. Created through the vision of Walter A. Hoyt Jr., M.D., the foundation grew and flourished during the 1980s under the guidance of Dr. Hoyt and the leadership of Louis A. Meyers, the foundation’s first chairman.

The original $5 million transfer from Akron City Hospital was intended to support and perpetuate medical education and research. The founders understood that physician training was integral to the excellence of Summa’s hospitals, creating a dynamic environment that raised the standards of medical care for all our patients.

Summa’s 13 residency programs have been responsible for educating the best and the brightest physicians serving patients today, as well as those of tomorrow. Moreover, our research labs in orthopaedics, urology, vascular studies, surgery and family practice have produced many medical innovations. Together, medical education and research have helped propel Summa Health System into leading positions, year after year, in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of the top hospitals in the country.As the hospitals have grown and evolved, so has the function of the Summa Foundation. Moving from a stewardship role to a combined stewardship and development role, the foundation is becoming instrumental in funding many of the system’s capital and program-related projects. The recently completed Campaign for Critical Care raised more than $15 million toward construction of the Ann and David Brennan Critical Care Center.

The foundation extends its deepest appreciation for our donors who over the years have given so generously to the Summa Health System hospitals. Your gifts have touched the lives of all of Summa’s patients and had a dramatic and lasting impact on the health of this community.