Tufts Medical Center names dining pavilion after former trustee

Tufts Medical Center (MC) officially named and dedicated its new dining pavilion to former Tufts MC Trustee and Governor A. Raymond Tye in a ceremony on Aug. 26.

The newly constructed dining pavilion, located on the first floor Atrium of Tufts MC, was funded by the contributions Tye made to Tufts MC over the years. Tye's children also donated additional funding as a gift, according to Steve Perna, senior board and donor relations officer at Tufts Medical.

Perna said that four of Tye’s children -- Jim Tye, Mark Tye, Randy O’Brien and Carol Rose -- wanted to honor their father, so they approached Tufts MC and made the decision to name a pavilion after him.

“We are so pleased that our father’s name and memory will live on in this beautiful space in the hospital he loved so well,” Jim Tye said in an Aug. 27 press release. “Dad had a special connection to Tufts Medical Center and truly believed in its mission and culture. It made complete sense for us to make a gift to this institution to ensure that our father’s legacy of helping those less fortunate continues to live on.”

The new dining pavilion seats 144 people and will provide a centralized location for families, visitors and employees to gather and enjoy meals and coffee, according to Perna.

The pavilion funds from Tye’s children are part of a five-year pledge, and will also benefit Tufts MC's Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, Perna said.

According to Perna, funding for these two centers will be granted for unrestricted use relating to general operations, such as patient care and support, education and training and medical research.

Raymond Tye was well known in the Boston community as chairman emeritus of United Liquors and president of the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation, and worked extensively with Tufts MC over the years, Perna said.

President and CEO of Tufts MC Michael Wagner echoed this sentiment:

“Ray Tye was a true friend and a steadfast supporter of Tufts Medical Center for many years,” Wagner said in the press release. “He was passionate about ensuring that the Medical Center was best equipped to provide optimal patient care.”

In addition to donating an amount totaling seven-figures to Tufts MC, Raymond Tye used his medical aid foundation to fund lifesaving medical treatment for patients with limited financial resources and those who lacked medical insurance, according to Perna.

The patients he supported included several children from extremely poor backgrounds overseas, Julie Jette, director of media relations and publications at Tufts MC, added. According to Perna, a girl from Iraq and a boy from Sudan were among those helped. Tye also funded a funeral for a little boy who was shot in Dorchester, Mass.

“He was an incredible human being,” Perna said. “He would come visit the patients here at the hospital that he provided support for...He would do very great acts of kindness that just went under the radar.”

At Tufts MC, Tye also co-founded the Herbert J. Levine Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, provided funding for essential medical equipment for the New England Eye Center and supported cancer research, Perna said.

“He [also] helped to establish our electronic medical records system, which, back in the day, was huge,” he explained.

Additionally, Tye helped to beautify Washington Street, where Tufts MC is located, by providing landscaping services, Perna said.

All of his work led Tufts MC to award Tye with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, according to the press release.

“He didn’t give to get the glamor and the glory of it, he gave to make a difference and he gave because he could,” Perna said. “He was just someone who was able to make a huge difference in a very quiet way.”