Providing a pro bono network of physicians and specialists for uninsured musicians in crisis.
Since ’94, JFA has provided a pro bono network for uninsured musicians in health crisis.
Dizzy Gillespie was a patient at Englewood Hospital in New Jersey many times before his passing in early 1993 from pancreatic cancer. Dizzy expressed two wishes to his family in his last days: to support the greatest passion in his life—jazz and jazz musicians—and to have a memorial in his name at “his” hospital, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. The JFA carried Dizzy’s torch with aplomb.
The Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund helps underwrite the costs of hospitalization, diagnostic tests, and a full range of surgical and medical care for jazz musicians who are uninsured and without the ability to pay. The Dizzy Gillespie Cancer Institute at Englewood Hospital has grown into a world-renowned oncology center, recognized as a model for cancer diagnosis and management.
Since its formation, the Memorial Fund, which is 100 percent donor-supported, has provided over $9 million in medical services to more than 1,900 of JFA’s blues, jazz, and roots musicians who otherwise would not have been able to afford healthcare.
Over 24 years, Englewood Hospital has never turned away a sick musician, and its unprecedented generosity has literally kept the music alive.
This program has thrived and grown thanks to the leadership of Dr. Frank Forte, Dr. Steve Brunnquell, Eddie Hadden, Mike Pietrowicz, Doug Duchak, Bob Litwak, and the 50 physicians who donate their time and energy annually to JFA patients.
Since 2001, this network of amazing doctors has grown to other states where we have found uninsured musicians who need help. These doctors have opened their hearts and their care to our musicians in times of crisis.
Additionally, we have created a network of dentists and oral surgeons who either donate their services completely free or at deeply discounted rates. These services are available to horn players and vocalists as the dentists’ time and caseloads allow.
support the health of musicians
Your donation to the JFA for its healthcare services will insure that the uninsured artists who are most in need of medical assistance will be taken care of.