This Dec. 1, 2016, file photo shows singer James Taylor and Kim Taylor perform during at the 94th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Ellipse in President’s Park in Washington, D.C.
Folk rock legend James Taylor and his wife Kim have donated $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to help it brace for an expected surge of coronavirus cases, the hospital said Tuesday.
The "Fire and Rain" singer was born at the hospital, where his father worked for a time, and he called it a "point of pride for New Englanders" in a statement. Kim Taylor serves on the board of MassGeneral Hospital for Children.
Massachusetts has canceled schools and closed non-essential businesses to limit the spread of the deadly new virus so that hospitals like Massachusetts General aren't overwhelmed with cases.
"Kim and I want to be part of this fight. We have been so inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the health care heroes in the trenches who are working so hard to protect us all," Taylor said.
The Taylors' donation will go toward creating an in-house test and a patient coronavirus hotline, adapting hospital spaces to coronavirus patients, buying much-needed equipment to protect health care workers and more, the hospital said.
The president of Massachusetts General Hospital, Peter Slavin, who was last week calling for people with 3D printers to help make masks for his employees, said their donation will not only help the hospital materially, it will boost the morale of its hard-working staff.
"The Taylors have long provided comfort and hope through music, and this latest gift embodies that same sense of humanity and sends a heartening message to our staff that their efforts are appreciated, and they are not in this fight alone," Slavin said in the statement.
