PROVIDENCE – The Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital, two Lifespan Corp. facilities, have received a donation of nearly $7 million from the Prince Charitable Trusts to support their emergency departments, which have been strained by the recession.

The money will be used to establish the Frederick Henry Prince Memorial Fund at the hospitals and the Wood Prince Emergency Nursing Program.

The gift was conferred by William Wood Prince, a trustee of the Prince Charitable Trusts and a grandson of Frederick Henry Prince, and his wife, Sharon Baron Wood Prince. They have homes in Newport and Chicago.

In a news release, the couple said they felt a donation to support emergency nursing and medical care was critical. They also announced on Tuesday a roughly $5 million donation to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

“The generosity of the Wood Princes is extraordinary, particularly during these challenging economic times, and will benefit so many in our community,” Arthur Sampson, The Miriam’s executive director, said in a statement.

About $4 million will go to The Miriam’s emergency department, which treats roughly 51,000 Rhode Islanders a year, and nearly $3 million will go to Newport’s, which treats more than 30,000 annually.

Lifespan said the nursing program “will facilitate ongoing specialized education and additional credentialing” for ER nurses at the Miriam and Newport hospitals.

August B. Cordeiro, president and CEO of Newport Hospital, said the family’s “magnificent and meaningful gift” would benefit the entire community by supporting excellence in emergency medicine and helping ED nurses stay abreast of “best practices.”

William Wood Prince noted that his grandfather, Frederick Henry Prince, “greatly appreciated quality health care and the need for caregivers to be supported,” and he hailed both hospitals for delivering “outstanding care” and earning national Magnet designations for nursing excellence.

“To support such a tradition of quality and to make a difference in the continuing education of nurses is an honor,” he added. “We look forward to working with hospital leadership during the years to come and hope this gift will inspire others who also wish to support exceptional patient care.”

Frederick Henry Prince, who died in 1953 at the age of 93, was a financier, railroad magnate and owner of the Chicago meatpacking company Armour & Co. He was also an intimate of Joseph P. Kennedy, the family patriarch and father of President John F. Kennedy and his siblings. Prince and his wife, Abbie Norman Prince, owned the Newport mansion known as Marble Palace.

Marion Davis contributed to this report.

The Prince Charitable Trusts were established in 1947 from the bequests of Frederick Henry Prince and his wife, Abbie Norman Prince. The three trusts operate as a family foundation with giving programs in Chicago, the Washington, D.C., area, and Rhode Island. More information is available at www.foundationcenter.org.

To learn more about The Miriam Hospital, go to www.miriamhospital.org. To learn more about Newport Hospital, go to www.newporthospital.org.