Groundbreaking ceremony for the Baptist Health Kenneth C. Griffin Neuroscience Institute. Ken Griffin, in center, is joined by Baptist officials and board of trustees members.
Baptist Health of South Florida
Miami billionaire Ken Griffin is putting another $25 million into neuroscience research and patient care at Baptist Health South Florida, bringing his total commitment to the health system to $75 million.
The Citadel CEO announced the additional gift Wednesday as Baptist Health broke ground on a new 197,000-square-foot neuroscience facility at Baptist Hospital in Kendall.
The gift comes just days after Griffin pledged $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University to help bring a campus to Wynwood, underscoring the billionaire’s growing investment in South Florida’s healthcare and education institutions. His gift to Carnegie Mellon is believed to be the largest made by a single individual in the history of U.S. higher education.
The health complex in Kendall will be called the Baptist Health Kenneth C. Griffin Neuroscience Institute in recognition of Griffin’s expanded commitment. Griffin originally gave Baptist Health $50 million in 2024 to expand neuroscience research and patient care. At the time, Baptist said Griffin’s was the largest single donation in the health system’s nearly 65-year history.
The additional $25 million will support the center’s focus in the care and research of complex neurological conditions, including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. The center will allow researchers and doctors to work under one roof on innovation, education and disease prevention.
“Today we celebrate what makes Baptist Health truly special — the hope it creates for all of us,” Griffin said. “The hope that this extraordinary team at Baptist Health gives to patients and families living with neurological disease. And the hope that, in the years to come, this team’s research will continue to find ways to diminish — and ultimately end — the suffering inflicted by neurological disease.”
Architectural rendering of the planned Baptist Health Kenneth C. Griffin Neuroscience Institute off Kendal Drive Baptist Health of South Florida
The building is scheduled to open in early 2029 on the Baptist Hospital main campus off Kendall Drive.
“Ken’s generosity will help us accelerate research and innovation, educate the next generation of neuroscience leaders, advance prevention and expand access to highly specialized brain and spine care,” said Bo Boulenger, president and CEO of Baptist Health.
The institute expects to add 16 subspecialty providers. Opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials and access new technologies to treat neurological conditions also will expand.
The complex will include additional examination rooms; outpatient physical, speech and occupational therapy; rehabilitation; and neuroinfusion services. The building also will include Baptist Health’s first academic lecture theater.
Luisa Yanez covers real estate and the impact of wealth migration in South Florida for the Miami Herald. In her work, she will be using both traditional reporting and AI tools.