Publication date: 2023/9/21 8:49:40 pm
Modified date: 9/21/2023 8:49:00 PM
GREENFIELD — Community residents and health care providers gathered Wednesday night to celebrate the launch of Baystate Health’s $70 million campaign, achieving the largest fundraising goal in the hospital system’s history.
“Baystate Health has been providing high-quality, compassionate care to this community since the 1880s,” said Andrew Arenstein, Baystate Health’s chief physician and chief academic officer. He made the remarks during a lecture at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. “It is our sincere hope that our promise to advance care and improve lives will continue this century and beyond. This campaign will help ensure our mission well into the future. ”
Arenstein said funds raised through the campaign, “Toward a Healthier Tomorrow: Campaign for Bay State Health,” will support the organization in three areas: capital needs, programs and endowment development. is.
“We launched the public portion of this capital campaign because we need support from the communities we serve to build a better healthcare tomorrow for everyone.” Arenstein said.
Scott Berg, vice president of philanthropy for Baystate Health and executive director of the Baystate Health Foundation, said the campaign has already raised more than $35 million from lead donors. The gift includes support from the Eileen E. and George A. Davis Foundation, which directly supports Greenfield’s family medicine training program.
Dr. Robert Bardo, founding chair and professor of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Baystate School of Medicine, explained that there is a national shortage of primary care providers. He said Greenfield’s family medicine residency program, launched last year, is helping to attract health care providers to work in the field.
“This training program will attract young facilities and support local hospitals,” Baldor said.
Baystate Health’s last fundraising campaign ended in 2012. Her $23 million raised helped build the shell of Springfield’s “Hospital of the Future” building, which includes a new emergency department and space for the Davis Family Cardiovascular Center. Her $70 million campaign will help complete much of the space, which is intended to accommodate new technology and meet the growing needs of the community.
“Every gift, no matter the size or what the donor directs, is critical to this campaign as the Bay State continues to play an important role in the health of people in our communities,” Berg said. Ta.