BAR HARBOR, Maine—Mount Desert Island Hospital is honored to announce a transformative $10 million lead gift from acclaimed television producer and philanthropist Dick Wolf to the Building Our Future campaign. This extraordinary contribution—the largest from an individual in the Hospital’s history—will accelerate construction of a new, state-of-the-art Emergency Department, upgraded surgical suites, and a welcoming new Main Street entrance.
Wolf’s leadership gift reflects his deep commitment to ensuring that world-class, compassionate care is always available for the people of Mount Desert Island and Hancock County.
“Dick Wolf’s generosity is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Chrissi Maguire, MDI Hospital President and CEO. “This gift not only advances our vision for a modern, patient-centered campus, it inspires others to join us in building a healthier future for our island community.”
“MDI Hospital is a cornerstone of this community,” said Dick Wolf. “I’m proud to help ensure that the people of Mount Desert Island and beyond have access to the best possible care, now, and for generations to come.”
The Building Our Future campaign is a bold $55 million initiative to modernize MDI Hospital’s campus for the next century. The project will nearly double the size of the Emergency Department, add advanced surgical and diagnostic capabilities, improve patient flow and privacy, and create flexible space to meet evolving healthcare needs.
Wolf’s transformational support is a catalyst for the project, developed through years of planning and input from staff and the community. His gift has been a driving force in the campaign’s momentum as it nears its $55 million goal and moves into its community phase, with a public launch set for August 27 at the Bar Harbor Club.
One of television’s most prolific and influential producers, Wolf is best known as the creator of the Law & Order franchise, a cultural touchstone that redefined the crime procedural genre. He also created the hit Chicago and FBI franchises, producing more than 2,500 hours of network television and earning multiple Emmy Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
A dedicated philanthropist, Wolf champions numerous health, education, and arts initiatives, from the University of Pennsylvania to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is committed to advancing cancer care training and education at Sansum Clinic and creating pathways for foster youth through the Television Academy Foundation and the Alliance for Children’s Rights.
About Dick Wolf
Dick Wolf, one of the most successful producers in the history of television, is the creator and executive producer of the “Law & Order” branded series, which includes television’s two longest-running drama series: NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” (27 seasons) and “Law & Order (25 seasons). Wolf is a two-time Emmy winner for “Law & Order” and HBO’s “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” and has been nominated 13 times. He also won a Grammy for the Doors documentary “When You’re Strange” and his company produced the Oscar-winning Documentary Short Film “Twin Towers.” Wolf and his eponymous Wolf Entertainment’s current series also include “Law & Order: Organized Crime” (Peacock), NBC’s “Chicago Fire” (season 14), “Chicago PD” (season 13) and “Chicago Med” (season 11); Prime Video’s “On Call” and CBS’ “FBI” (season 8) and the new Fall 2025 entry “CIA.” His other successful network series include: CBS’ “FBI: Most Wanted” and “FBI: International” which recently wrapped six and four season runs; “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “New York Undercover.” Non scripted hit series include Oxygen’s “Cold Justice,” Netflix’s “Homicide: NY and LA,” and A&E’s “Nightwatch.” Wolf Entertainment is also expanding with a robust podcast slate including “Hunted,” “Dark Woods” and “Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer,” and Wolf Games, a new venture aimed at engaging true crime fans.
Wolf is a New York Times bestselling author (“The Intercept,” “The Execution” and “The Ultimatum”) and has received numerous personal accolades including: the Television Academy Hall of Fame; the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award; the Producer’s Guild of America’s Norman Lear Showmanship Award; the DGA Honors; the Monte Carlo Television Festival Gold Nymph Award (Wolf is Honorary Consul to the Principality); the Award of Excellence from the Banff Television Festival and in 2007 he received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Wolf’s philanthropy is unparalleled. He is the founder and benefactor (with Marcy Carsey) of the Carsey-Wolf Center for Media at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and other significant endowments include: the Wolf Theater at the Television Academy and the Academy’s Dick Wolf Internship Program; MOXI, the Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation, UPenn’s Wolf Humanities Center; USC’s Dick Wolf School of Drama and his transformative promised gift of more than 200 works to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for the museum’s collections of Renaissance and Baroque art.
About Mount Desert Island Hospital
Mount Desert Island Hospital serves a close-knit island and surrounding communities through a 25-bed critical access facility in Bar Harbor and a network of area health centers—all designed to provide comprehensive healthcare for residents and visitors.
Since it was established in 1897, the nonprofit, independent hospital has grown into a premier rural healthcare organization with a retirement community and six primary care health centers, as well as a full-service behavioral health center and a dental clinic.
Today, MDI Hospital employs more than 500 people and is the second-largest employer on Mount Desert Island. Active medical staff includes hospitalists, primary care physicians and practitioners, highly skilled nurses, orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, psychiatrists, care managers, a board-certified emergency physician, an ophthalmologist, a pathologist, a radiologist, and a urologist.
MDI Hospital’s groundbreaking teaching partnership with Penn Medicine, established in 2011, has evolved into a model for future urban-rural partnerships across the nation and has established MDI Hospital as a premier rural hospital for emergency medicine and critical care. The hospital’s Emergency Department, a critical link in Downeast Maine’s trauma delivery system, serves the Mount Desert Island community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.