Lee Greif Saves Kansas City's Menorah Medical Center
During Greif's three-year term as Chairman, he located a merger partner in Health Midwest. Out of this strategic merger emerged an opportunity to come underneath the umbrella of HCA, a giant hospital conglomerate.
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS, September 01, 2010
Lee Greif is no stranger to hard times. Growing up, he was making his own way by age sixteen, working three to four jobs per day just to make ends meet. Greif started the first of several multi-million-dollar banks in a trailer parked on an inconspicuous corner near downtown Kansas City. When it comes to turning tough situations around, Greif keeps a firm grip on what is possible in the face of evaluating what is no longer working.Lee Greif signed on as Chairman of the Board at the Menorah Medical Center, then a 430-bed not-for-profit hospital that was perhaps best known behind the scenes for its ability to lose millions of dollars annually despite the best efforts of staff and board members. During Greif's three-year term as Chairman, he located a merger partner in Health Midwest. Out of this strategic merger emerged an opportunity to come underneath the umbrella of HCA, a giant hospital conglomerate. Greif guided the Menorah Medical Center board to sell Menorah to HCA, saving the hospital in the process.
This is not the only instance where Greif stepped in to provide his expertise in lending, fundraising, strategic partnership, corporate equity, and investment strategy to Kansas City's wealth of not-for-profit organizations. Lee Greif has served as director of no less than four local non-profits, including: the Theater League of Greater Kansas City, the Kansas City Fundraising Committee for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial, the American Cancer Society of Johnson County, and KCPT Public Television. When asked why he has a special heart for lending his expertise, insight, and business savvy to charitable causes, Greif replies, "I learned very early on - and that is the key - that if you try hard, you can do things....It is the American system. That hard work is rewarded."
Lee H. Greif, was born on November 20, 1945 in New York City to Adele and Murray Greif. He attended elementary public school in New York City and high school in Westport Connecticut. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1967 and its Law School in January 1971. He temporarily left law school in 1968 to serve six months in the Army reserves during the Vietnam War.