A Thank You to Shepherd Supporters

In 1975, David Apple Jr., M.D., the medical director of the newly opened Shepherd Spinal Center, asked friends to donate to the hospital if he completed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. 

He did finish the race, and a friend named George Johnson gave him a $100 check, the first donation from anyone not involved in the hospital’s founding. 

Since its start, Shepherd Center has relied on the generosity of supporters to give patients the highest level of care. From fundraising to move Shepherd into its own building, to creating the country’s largest recreation therapy program, to conducting research and implementing new technologies, generous donations from groups and individuals have made all the difference for the hospital and for patients. 

Displaying Need and Gaining Influence 

Just seven years after Dr. Apple secured Shepherd’s first outside donation, patients and staff moved from the West Paces Ferry Hospital into their own building. The 2020 Peachtree Road hospital opened in 1982 after Scott Hudgens sold the land to Shepherd Center at a significant discount and made a sizable donation to the hospital. The new building had 40 beds, with plenty of room to expand. 

“It was like walking into your dream,” Dr. Apple says. “We had wide halls, a huge therapy space, bigger patient rooms — all of the essentials this patient population needed.” He adds that the building brought new credibility for the hospital in fundraising, particularly among charitable foundations. 

The support did follow — from foundations, generous businesses, and individuals. Looking around Shepherd’s campus today, it’s easy to spot the names of influential Atlanta business leaders and philanthropists: Marcus, Blank, Carlos, and Woodruff, among others. But this support is more than a name on a building or a bust in the front hallway — it’s a personal connection to the hospital that lasts a lifetime. Shepherd’s founders, Alana Shepherd especially, made it their mission to show these leaders how Shepherd Center changes lives. 

The late Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, was initially reluctant to visit Shepherd Center. After Alana gave him a tour, he became one of the hospital’s most ardent supporters. 

“What I saw shocked me,” Marcus said in a video statement played at the Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation “topping out” ceremony. “I didn’t see the negative, I saw the positive. Everybody there had a goal — they were going to go back to school, they were going to get married, they were going to continue their careers — it was such an uplifting experience.” 

Over the years, Marcus served on the Board of Directors and co-chaired two capital campaigns, The Best is Yet to Come Campaign and Pursuing Possible: The Campaign for Shepherd Center. His support named the Billi Marcus Building in honor of his wife, another fierce supporter of the hospital. Additionally, support from the Marcus Foundation helped fund the Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation, slated to open this spring. This support also provided funding to launch Shepherd’s Marcus Community Bridge Program and the SHARE Military Initiative. 

Shepherd Center’s founders prioritized fundraising to support patient families, too. The Shepherd family knew firsthand what it was like to travel across state lines to receive quality medical care, and they wanted to make it easier for other families who had to do the same. Thanks to a lead gift from Jane Woodruff in 2008, Shepherd opened the Irene and George Woodruff Family Residence Center, an 84-unit housing facility for patient families. And last year, Shepherd more than doubled its housing capacity with the opening of the Arthur M. Blank Family Residences, made possible by a $50 million grant from the Blank Family Foundation. 

“Having seen the benefits firsthand of loved ones working alongside patients during recovery, I know it is a clinical imperative,” Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, said when announcing the grant. “It is my hope this new facility will ease their burdens in some small way so they can focus on helping their loved ones heal.” 

This story first appeared in the special 50th anniversary issue of Spinal Column magazine. Some passages in this story are excerpts from the summer 2015 edition of Spinal Column.