Martha Stewart Center for Living Does a Mother Proud

When she cuts the ribbon on the Martha Stewart Center for Living tomorrow, Martha Stewart will join the ranks of Mount Sinai Hospital donors, such as Carl Icahn and Henry Kravis, who have buildings named after them. She donated $5 million — and her design expertise — toward the new geriatric outpatient clinic on Madison Avenue and 99th Street, helping to select the bonsai tree as the center's symbol, and approved the grey tile work, earthtone paints, and stainless steel accents proposed by Pei Partnership Architects.

"Of course we were prepared with all sorts of alternatives, but she liked everything we showed her from the very first time," the project's lead architect, C.C. Pei, said Friday.

Situated within Mount Sinai Hospital but with its own entrance, the 7,800 square-foot center will bring together doctors of various specialties under one roof to care for patients 65 and older, including Stewart's mother.

"It is my great honor to dedicate this center to my mom, Martha Kostyra, who has always inspired me to be physically active and mentally engaged," Stewart said to The New York Sun of Mrs. Kostyra, who turned 93 on September 16 and will be at the ceremony tomorrow. "My sincere hope is that the center will encourage all people to embrace a healthier lifestyle so that they may continue to enjoy a productive and satisfying life as they grow older. We all want to live for many, many years but it's important to have a good quality of life, too."

In 1914, a Mount Sinai faculty member wrote the first textbook on geriatrics, coining the term in the process, and, 25 years ago, the hospital founded the first geriatric medicine department. Mount Sinai has long conducted leading research on geriatric issues such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and would like the center to develop models of geriatric care that can be replicated elsewhere. The new space triples patient capacity and will mark the expansion of education and support programs for caregivers and family members of patients. It will have an open house on November 8.

In the two years since making the gift on her mother's 91st birthday, Stewart's company has ramped up its editorial coverage of health, including more coverage of Stewart's own diet and exercise regimens (which include poached salmon and nonfat Total Greek yogurt for breakfast, yoga on weekend mornings, and working out with a trainer at least three times a week).

On her television show two weeks ago, with President Clinton cheering her on, she pledged her personal commitment "to ease the difficulties associated with caring for the elderly." (Mr. Clinton was on the show to promote the Clinton Global Initiative's new Web site, mycommitment.org, which helps users set goals for improving the world.) On Wednesday, the "Martha Stewart Show" will carry a segment about the Martha Stewart Center for Living as part of a show on "healthy living secrets." Mrs. Kostyra will be in the studio for a Q&A with her daughter.

Stewart's pairing with Mount Sinai seems like a good fit. "Martha Stewart's gift is an unusual opportunity to help us deliver a message that we need to prepare for an aging America," the chairman of Mount Sinai's Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Adult Medicine, Dr. Albert Siu, said. The population of adults 65 and older is growing: by 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 years of age or older.

Although Stewart, who turned 66 in August, made her gift personally through a fund she created with her daughter, the Martha and Alexis Stewart Charitable Foundation, she sees a direct connection between the center and her company.

"The center's educational mission matches Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's ongoing and expanding commitment to helping you live well at every life stage, a commitment reflected in each of our publications," Stewart wrote in the September issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Stewart and her company stand to benefit from the similarity of the center's name to its own. "It's an extraordinarily consonant donation, and a consonant name. That kind of cognitive reinforcement is a thing that only makes a brand stronger," the president of New York marketing firm Brand Keys Inc., Robert Passikoff, said. "She hasn't missed a beat with this name. It's the perfect example of doing well by doing good." That said, whether the project will in fact boost the value of Stewart's brand remains to be seen. A survey this spring, around the time Stewart received some publicity for the gift, it appeared to have a minimal effect on her rating on the Brand Keys index. "People are cynical, they expect people like her to give," Mr. Passikoff said.

Those involved with the project say the name was chosen to describe the center's mission of helping people live longer and more active lives.

"We wanted to get away from the idea of geriatrics … to change the way people think about aging," the wunderkind faculty member at Mount Sinai who initially interested Stewart in supporting the center, Dr. Brent Ridge, said. "It's really about getting the most out of your life. There's no better word for that than ‘living.' "

Last year, Dr. Ridge took a full-time position as vice president of Healthy Living with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, in which he will supervise the new Healthy Living section in the Martha Stewart magazine and contribute a column, which started in September (he wrote about his desire to live to the age of 100). He has also started making regular appearances on her television show and the Martha Stewart Living radio network. He maintains a position on the Mount Sinai faculty but will not have a hand in the operations of the center.

As a human branding phenomenon, Stewart has made an art and science of turning her life into profit through editorial content and by attaching her name to all sorts of things, from bed sheets to sewing machines to frozen foods. Such extroversion comes with risks, but affiliating with Mount Sinai through a philanthropic act seems like a winning proposition. As ever, there is a personal dimension to Stewart and her company's involvement in healthy living. Stewart's daughter, who has a background in the fitness industry, has become more involved in the company in recent years. Stewart herself turned 65 last year and has had the experience of watching her mother age (except, of course, during the five months she spent at the prison camp for women in Alderson, W. Va.; Stewart had hoped to be assigned to a prison in Danbury, Conn., so she could be near her mother).

Mrs. Kostyra lives in her own wing at the Connecticut home of her daughter Laura and has appeared on Stewart's television shows 40 times, including on her last three birthdays.

Stewart often talks about her mother as her role model for aging well.

"My mother is treasurer of her road association and is a good example of staying active. She still drives and is now driving around all of her friends," Stewart said last year in a talk at the 92nd Street Y. She added, "I can ask my mom about any current event, and she always has an answer or a fact. … When she comes over, I give her the latest books that I've enjoyed, and she, in turn, shares things with me. We're very curious."

Perhaps the most telling comment Stewart made in the talk was about her own motto. "When you're through changing, you're through. Don't be afraid of change, regardless of how old you are," she said.

Stewart's $5 million gift does not place her at the top of Mount Sinai donors on a dollar basis: Mr. Icahn, a trustee, gave the hospital an unrestricted $25 million gift, and Mr. Kravis, also a trustee, has given $25 million to children's, women's, and cardiovascular programs. But according to Dr. Siu, it is highly significant nonetheless. "It's a cornerstone that we have used and are continuing to use in terms of building other support for our programs," Dr. Siu said.

"Her $5 million gift was very generous but by no means enough to meet the challenges of an aging society."

Still, according to Dr. Ridge, she may be bringing something to Mount Sinai that is priceless: "Aging is an issue that still has quite a bit of taboo around it. For someone like Martha with her status and her reach to say this is very important, that's incredible."