Anonymous Family Donates $1 Million Challenge Gift to Hunterdon Medical Center

Nov. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- An anonymous family who are grateful patients and long-time residents of Hunterdon County have generously offered to make a $1 million challenge gift to Investing in a New Generation of Care…The Campaign for Hunterdon Healthcare System.

The gift, matching the largest ever made by a living individual to Hunterdon Medical Center, is structured as a challenge that will become official once the campaign has raised an additional $2 million.  Investing in a New Generation of Care has already garnered unprecedented support of more than $9 million to date from trustees, physicians, employees, volunteers and friends of Hunterdon Medical Center toward its $15 million goal.  

“This extraordinary family has challenged our Hunterdon County residents and future patients to raise $2 million by the end of 2011, to automatically formalize this $1 million gift to our campaign,” said Robert P. Wise, President & CEO of Hunterdon Healthcare System.  “We are most grateful for this tremendous generosity and we’ve already established a Meet the Challenge program to help spread the donor’s enthusiasm toward our campaign and our commitment to the highest quality healthcare for the community we serve.”

The $15 million fundraising effort, publicly announced last year, is helping to underwrite a $22 million multi-year facility and technology enhancement project that will allow for comprehensive clinical program expansion in three key service areas: cancer treatment, surgical services and cardiovascular care.   The first major milestone, the expansion of Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center’s new radiation oncology wing, was completed and is operational. The next priority is underway…the expansion and renovation of Hunterdon Medical Center’s surgical suite which includes the construction of two new operating rooms.  Following the completion of the surgical services project, the third priority will be a vertical expansion above 3 West which will create a new floor to centralize all acute care cardiovascular services including approximately 20 private patient rooms.  

“We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our benefactors who, with this challenge, has generated a wonderful new momentum for the last hurdles of the campaign that we are confident will reach its $15 million goal,” indicated Kate Hartford, Chairperson of the Investing in a New Generation of Care Campaign.  “Successfully meeting this challenge and completing the $15 million fundraising campaign, the most comprehensive and ambitious ever undertaken by the Hunterdon Medical Center Foundation, will allow the Hunterdon Medical Center to make this investment of $22 million to build on its clinical strengths, and ensure that individuals and families in the region have access to the highest level of care and treatment they need close to home.”  

Through the years, charitable gifts have helped Hunterdon Medical Center meet the challenging healthcare needs of the residents of Hunterdon County and the region, such as the construction of a new Emergency Department, major renovations to the Intensive Care Unit, and the creation of the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center.

“We will make this challenge happen because we have to,” said Wise.  “We will make it happen because the people of this community need these medical services, deserve them, and will rally behind this generous challenge.”