Holyoke Medical Center Awarded $200,000 Kresge Foundation Grant

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center has been awarded a $200,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation, to be used toward the hospital’s ongoing $4 million “Yours for Life” capital campaign.
The campaign is supporting the hospital’s $11.1 million expansion project, which is geared toward improving patient care and dramatically enhancing outpatient services at the facility.

“We’re beyond thrilled to receive this news,” said Yours for Life campaign co-chair Angela Wright. “This gives the campaign an amazing boost at just the right time. It’s the incentive that’s going to help take us over the top.”

Prior to receiving the grant, the medical center had already raised more than $3.3 million toward its goal.

“Having the recognition from the Kresge Foundation is a very important accomplishment for the hospital,” said Wright. “It’s reflective of the appreciation that this outstanding national organization has for the work that goes on every day at Holyoke Medical Center.”

The Kresge Foundation, an independent, private foundation, was created in 1924 by Sebastian S. Kresge “to promote the well-being of mankind.” Through grant-making programs, the foundation strives to strengthen the capacity of charitable organizations to provide effective programs of quality. The foundation’s geographic scope is national and, on occasion, international.

At the time of the Holyoke Medical Center grant announcement, the foundation had awarded 138 grants in 2003, for a total of $104,640,600.

John E. Marshall III, president and chief executive officer of the Kresge Foundation, said, “in this cycle of grant making, our trustees were pleased to support a range of organizations reflecting almost the entire breadth of the nonprofit sector. This diverse group is responding to the new challenges presented by their communities or sustaining activities that have demonstrated their effectiveness.”

Grants are made toward projects involving construction or renovation of facilities and the purchase of major capital equipment or real estate. Grant recipients must raise the initial funds toward their respective projects before requesting foundation assistance. Grants are then made on a challenge basis, requiring the raising of the remaining funds, thereby insuring completion of the projects.

Groundbreaking for the project took place in August of 2002, and the first floor of the renovated Holyoke Medical Center opened on Nov. 13. The second floor is slated for completion later this year.

The project includes the construction of new operating rooms and new endoscopy rooms in order to help the hospital meet rapid technological advancements and the increasing demand for outpatient services. Other areas included in the project are the Patient Registration Department, front lobby, recovery rooms, Laboratory, Cardiology, Anesthesia, Medical Records, as well as the hospital’s gift and coffee shop.

“We would not have been able to accomplish this much without the outpouring of generosity from the people and businesses in our community,” said Holyoke Medical Center President Hank J. Porten. “Thanks to those efforts, and now thanks to the Kresge Foundation, we are well on our way toward our goal. We are very grateful, and look forward to carrying on our commitment to caring for the people of our region for generations to come.”

Contributions are still needed to help the Yours for Life campaign reach its goal. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution is asked to call the Medical Center’s Development Office at (413) 534-2579.