Atlanta’s medical leaders remember Bernie Marcus

ATLANTA — On the campus of the Shepherd Center in Buckhead, one of the main entrances features a line of busts.

Co-founder Alana Shepherd says she knows the smile.

“He was pleased with what he was able to do,” Shepherd told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.

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The bust depicts her dear departed friend, Bernie Marcus.

The co-founder of The Home Depot helped fund the hospital that specializes in helping people with spinal cord and brain injuries.

The Billi Marcus building was a birthday gift to his wife.

“She was speechless!” Shepherd said.

“Bernie never believed in solving problems on a small scale,” Ami Klin said.

Klin is the Director of the Marcus Autism Center.

He said Marcus provided the funding for a practice of medicine that prior to his commitment was not given the national attention it needed.

“33 years later this place is the largest healthcare system for children with autism and their families in the country,” Klin said.

Marcus was also behind the revitalization of Grady with a Stroke Center and a Trauma and Emergency Center.

He helped transform Piedmont into a healthcare destination across Georgia and beyond.

He donated $2 billion to nonprofits over the last 3 decades.

Much of that was for medical care, including the $80 million Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation under construction at Shepherd.

Shepherd isn’t sure we will see his like again.

“Stroke Center. Heart Center. Grady. Piedmont. He was so wise and so helpful and so caring,” Shepherd said.

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