Chris and Portia Durbin first walked through the doors of BMC’s Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC) 10 years ago when they volunteered with their church to help settle a newly migrated Ethiopian family — a single mom with nine children, many with medical complexities.
From left: Durbin Family IRHC Endowed Director Sarah Kimball, MD, Portia & Chris Durbin, and BMC President & System Chief Physician Executive Tony Hollenberg, MD
“I remember walking into BMC and saying, ‘This is a world-class institution,’” Chris Durbin recalled. Through frequent visits for the family’s medical appointments, the Newton couple became deeply familiar with, and inspired by, the IRHC and BMC: connecting migrants with healthcare, resources, and community support.
That moment led to years of dedicated support and their latest generous gesture. Earlier this year, the Durbin family gave $2.5 million to BMC to create the first endowed directorship at BMC: The Durbin Family IRHC Endowed Directorship.
The Durbin directorship and other philanthropic support allow the IRHC to respond quickly to the changing needs of patients, says Sarah Kimball, MD, the first Durbin Family IRHC Endowed Director. In 2022, the Durbins created an IRHC fellowship to help train more practitioners specialized in caring for migrant patients and their unique needs, including chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Today’s gift will allow the IRHC to address its patients’ most pressing needs, such as mental health support. Additionally, an endowed gift creates a permanent source of funding since only the annual investment returns are spent; the principal is preserved forever.
“Chris and Portia’s support and the endowed gift mean the world to me,” Kimball said. “Beyond the material support that allows us to do the work, knowing that there’s a directorship that will live way past me makes me feel hope, and that’s a precious commodity right now.”
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