Mercy Medical Center receives record gift

Mary Catherine Bunting has made the largest gift in the history of Mercy Medical Center, and the board of trustees announced yesterday that they will name their new building after her.

The Mary Catherine Bunting Center at Mercy, which will open in 2010, is an 18-story hospital tower in the 300 block of St. Paul Place, next to Mercy. It will offer private rooms, a front-door drop-off, three eco-friendly rooftop meditation gardens and operating rooms equipped with robotics.

Ms. Bunting is the granddaughter of Avery Bunting, who founded the first Noxzema Chemical Co. She first became part of Mercy as a 16-year-old junior volunteer and graduated from the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in 1958. She spent most of her nursing career at Mercy’s community health center in South Baltimore; she retired as a certified nurse practitioner in 1996.

“Throughout her life, Mary Catherine has embodied the mission of the Sisters of Mercy, serving as caregiver, advocate and champion on behalf of women, children and particularly the underserved,” said Sister Helen Amos, R.S.M., executive chair of the Mercy Board of Trustees.

Mercy is respecting Ms. Bunting’s wish that that the amount of the donation not be disclosed; the largest gift previously was $10 million.