Ed and Ellen Noonan to Lead Capital Campaign for Baystate Wing ED

PALMER — Baystate Wing Hospital announced that Ed and Ellen Noonan will serve as co-chairs for the Baystate Wing Emergency Department Campaign. The goal of the project, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2017, will rightsize the Emergency Department at the Palmer campus to better serve current patient demands.

The husband-and-wife team, well-known local residents and noted business and community leaders, have agreed to lead the fund-raising efforts as campaign co-chairs. Ed Noonan, a Baystate Health trustee, is owner of Noonan Energy, a fifth-generation business and family-owned company with a 125-year reputation in heating services. He has also served as a longtime member of the Baystate Wing Hospital board of directors. Ellen Noonan, who served as vice president for Educational Enterprise and executive director for Extended Campus Programs at American International College in Springfield, also co-chairs the Patient and Family Advisory Council for both the Baystate Mary Lane and Baystate Wing campuses.

The Emergency Department expansion project includes 18 private exam rooms, fast-track rooms for patients with minor injuries or illnesses, a dedicated space for behavioral-health patients and caregivers, and a private triage and consultation room. A specialized isolation room for highly contagious patients and a decontamination room for hazardous-materials exposure treatment are also among the rooms slated for construction. A more streamlined check-in process and private discharge areas will provide seamless patient care with reduced wait times.

“I’ve used the Baystate Wing Hospital Emergency Department and understand, first-hand, how important emergency care is to our community,” Ed Noonan said. “I’m proud to help lead this campaign to ensure that our community has access to the latest life-saving treatments for many years to come, but this project can’t happen without community support.”

Michael Moran, president and chief administrative officer for Baystate Health’s Eastern Region, which includes Baystate Wing Hospital and the Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center, called the project an exciting one for the region. “We are grateful to Ed and Ellen for leading this effort and for their continued generous support. We are focused on providing excellent patient experience, so we’re delighted to make this investment to better serve our patients. The project fulfills a critical need for additional treatment beds and will improve the environment in which we treat the more than 24,000 patients who visit us each year for emergency care.”

Added Ellen Noonan, “every dollar given to this campaign will stay right here in our community providing the best emergency care possible for our families, friends, neighbors, and our children and grandchildren.”

The campaign’s fund-raising goal is $2.8 million. The overall cost of building and equipping the new emergency department at Baystate Wing Hospital is $17.2 million, with Baystate Health committing funding through capital investment and bonds.

“We are privileged to have the leadership and support of Ed and Ellen Noonan to lead this important capital campaign for Baystate Wing Hospital,” said Jane Albert, vice president of Philanthropy, Baystate Health, and executive director of Baystate Health Foundation. “We truly appreciate their commitment and recognition of the importance of philanthropic support to helping keep care local and serve the needs of our communities.”

As lead volunteers for the campaign, the Noonans will be meeting with friends and neighbors throughout the area to share information and raise people’s awareness about services now available at Baystate Wing Hospital as well as plans for the hospital’s future.