When retired anesthesiologist and pain management specialist Dr. Richard Esack pledged a substantial donation to Jupiter Medical Center, his intentions were to help fund its future goals and fulfill his personal mission to help others. But at its heart, the gift is a legacy of love for his late wife, Anne, who passed away in 2018 after a six-year battle with Lewy body dementia, a devastating disease that affects memory, motor skills, and cognitive ability.
“She was a remarkable woman; beautiful inside and out,” Esack recalls. He describes Anne as a pilot, accomplished businesswoman, and model with an active life of hunting, golfing, playing tennis, skiing, and fishing. “I miss her terribly and I’d give up everything to have her back. She made me a better person.”
The two met while Esack was practicing at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. “I was a happy bachelor, with no intention of settling down to marriage and a family, but my partners’ wives kept telling me I should be married,” he jokes. As it turned out, they were right. Kathy Fiorello, wife of his close friend and partner, Dr. Anthony Fiorello, introduced him to Anne, and the rest is history. As Esack says simply: “I fell in love. We married five years later and lived a Camelot life.” The two were wed for 25 years before Anne passed away.
Esack and his wife spent most of their married life in South Florida and North Carolina. Although Esack now resides by the Intracoastal and Donald Ross Road, he and Anne initially moved into BallenIsles in Palm Beach Gardens, once again spurred by the Fiorellos, who had already relocated to the area. Within six months of moving, Anne was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia at Jupiter Medical Center and “everything changed,” Esack says. “I’ll never forget the day I read the scans and knew our lives would never be the same.”
An immediate gift from Esack to Jupiter Medical Center will help fund expansion and renovation of the Petrocelli Emergency Center. Slated to begin in 2021, it includes updated technology and a new eight-bed FastTrack area, which will help reduce wait time for patients. The lion’s share of Esack’s donation is a planned gift that will go into the unrestricted fund for use as JMC sees fit. “I wanted the money to go where they saw the most need and impact,” he says. “As a physician who dedicates his life to helping others, it seemed natural to give back in the medical realm. Jupiter Medical Center is the definition of community-based care, provided on a nonprofit basis. They really do care about the community.”
Money isn’t the only donation Esack has made to JMC. He is also planning to dedicate his time and talent. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he had nearly completed training as a volunteer, assigned to the surgical recovery room. When it’s safe to volunteer again, he plans to be there two to three times a week. “If there’s anything I miss about my practice, it’s the purpose of helping people and the camaraderie.”
Esack largely came to philanthropy later in life. Born in Philadelphia in what he describes as humble circumstances, he and his family moved to Hollywood, Florida, when he was 9. A graduate of Nova High School, where he was a competitive sprinter and hurdler, he won a scholarship his freshman year and subsequently graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa for his undergraduate education. He then put himself through medical school at the Philadelphia College for Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Miami.
Practicing in South Florida and North Carolina, Esack regularly logged 75-hour weeks. He spent his free time with Anne scuba diving, skiing, and traveling the world. He also collects wine and enjoys fine dining. Retirement hasn’t slowed him down much. Before Anne got sick, the two stepped up their travel and Esack began dabbling in a new business venture as an investor. “A former patient of mine was a billionaire venture capitalist and he took me under his wing, letting me invest in some of his companies,” he says. “I was very fortunate to become successful in that arena.”
Esack acknowledges that his own good fortune has allowed him to give back to the community, especially in honor of the profession that offered him so much. The choices were easy: His two major benefactors are his medical school alma mater and JMC. Despite never having practiced there, “Jupiter Medical Center means a great deal to me,” he explains. “They have the finest equipment available, and the way they provide care has become the pinnacle of great care in South Florida.”