Free bed fund to help hospital patients

With approval of G. Fox & Co. descendants, control turned over to Hartford HealthCare

The family that once owned the famed G. Fox & Co. department store is ready to turn over control of its free bed fund at Hartford Hospital.

In a lawsuit naming Attorney

General William Tong as defendant, the hospital says the descendants of Moses Fox, son of G. Fox co-founder Gerson Fox, have agreed to allow it to name beneficiaries of the fund, which was started by Moses Fox in 1936.

The “Moses Fox Free Bed Fund #2” was set up to “provide a ward bed giving free treatment thereon for 365 days per year.” Fox or his family members were to nominate beneficiaries of the fund.

Free bed funds are created as endowments that pay for medical care for those who are unable to pay. The fund Fox endowed in 1936 began as $20,000 but has grown to total $1.35 million as of October 2022.

While the Fox family had named recipients of the fund, the hospital said in its legal filing that there are now too many descendants scattered across the country for that to be viable, and that the fund is not being used 365 days a year.

Moses Fox (1850-1938) had three children, all of whom are deceased: Sophie, who died in childhood, Beatrice, who succeeded her father as president of G. Fox, and Fannie. He had three grandchildren as well.

There are now 12 great-grandchildren with the surnames of Kaplan, Koopman, Solomon, Schiro, Schiro-Zavela and Auerbach, according to the lawsuit.

“Due to the large number of living descendants, and their diffuse locations, it has become impracticable for the Hospital to look to members of Moses Fox’s family to continue to nominate recipients of the Fund,” the hospi

tal states.

“As a result, the Fund cannot currently benefit Hospital patients 365 days per year, in the manner directed by Moses Fox.”

With the help of great-granddaughter Rena Koopman, the hospital reached out to eight more great-grandchildren. All nine agreed to turn control of the fund over to the hospital.

Two great-grandchildren were unknown to the hospital at the time but were to be notified of the lawsuit, according to the filing. A 12th could not be located.

The large number of descendants “makes communication difficult, and consensus impracticable,” the lawsuit states. “Timing is especially important because nominations are highly time sensitive in order to benefit current patients of the hospital while they are admitted.”

A spokeswoman for Tong, who is in favor of the transfer, according to the lawsuit, issued a statement:

“The Office of the Attorney General supports this petition on behalf of Hartford HealthCare.

“What is happening here is the legal process required to modify a donor restriction that has become impractical or hindered by circumstances not anticipated by the donor. … This change would allow the hospital to better comply with Moses Fox’s wishes to provide free treatment to those in need,” the statement said.

Hartford Hospital also issued a statement, saying “Hartford Hospital looks forward to assisting more patients, thanks to the initial generosity of the Fox family nearly 90 years ago, its descendants today, the consent of the Attorney General and the court’s approval.

G. Fox was founded by German immigrants Gerson and Isaac Fox in 1847. The store became a landmark and destination in downtown Hartford. It was bought by the May Department Store Co. in 1965, according to connecticuthistory.org.

The Main Street store closed in 1993 and its branches were rebranded as Filene’s.

The G. Fox building is now the home of Capital Community College, which is seeking a major renovation or move into a more suitable building.