Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Joins Global Community Honoring Fred Smith

Today the family of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH), including its almost 12,000 Associates and 2,500 physicians, is honoring the life of FedEx CEO and founder Fred Smith, who died Saturday at the age of 80.

MLH CEO Dr. Michael Ugwueke says Memphis has lost a giant who truly believed in giving back to the city he loved. “He always said that keeping FedEx strong depended on keeping Memphis strong. He very much understood supporting the city’s healthcare facilities and systems was part of that.”

During the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, when PPE equipment was hard to find, Dr. Ugwueke said he picked up the phone and called Smith for help. “Fred Smith made a call to help us immediately. He thought nothing of it. That’s the kind of man he was.”

Smith’s biggest contribution to the MLH family was his support of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. He invested in building the hospital, which opened in 2009, and helped create the FedEx Neuroscience Institute at Le Bonheur.

Just a year later, Smith and his wife, Diane, cofounded FedExFamilyHouse - which provides free lodging for out-of-town families whose children receive care at the hospital. Smith’s legacy as a humanitarian was also evident after the Haitian earthquake in 2010. He provided a FedEx plane to fly a 12-member medical team from Le Bonheur to administer care to the children of Haiti. He also arranged to use a FedEx jet to fly 20 tons of medical equipment to the devastated island.

“Fred Smith was an icon, a great man who loved his family and community,” said Dr. Trey Eubanks, president and surgeon-in-chief at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. “His impact on children and families at Le Bonheur is just one example of that love.”

The family at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare sends its condolences to Fred Smith’s wife and children and the more than 500,000 FedEx employees in Memphis and around the world.