Page 34 - Healthcare News Mar/Apr 2021

Baystate Announces Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology
SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Health announced the creation of its first-ever endowed chair, to be known as the Ronald T. Burkman Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Funding for the endowed chair was made possible by a significant gift to
the Baystate Health Foundation by Dr. Ronald Burkman, the former chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center, and his wife, Millie.
Proceeds from the endowment will support this faculty position in perpetuity, allowing the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the chair holder to advance the mission of excellence in clini- cal care, education, research, and training the next generation of obstetricians and gynecologists.
“I have a special place in my heart for Baystate Medical Center, where I spent the greater part of my clinical career
and where my wife and I established many close friendships at Baystate and throughout the area,” Burkman said. “It was our desire to support the hospital’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecol- ogy and highlight the quality of care the entire staff provides for area women, while supporting related educational programs, research, and clinical care at Baystate. It
is our hope that this gift will also help to raise the prestige of the department and to attract future talented faculty and to retain those already practicing there.”
Dr. Heather Sankey, whom Burkman recruited to Baystate, has been named the inaugural holder of the Ronald T. Burkman Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In addition to serving
Dr. Ronald Burkman and Millie Burkman hope their gift inspires other donors to make similar commitments to other Baystate departments.
as department chair, Sankey is professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UMass Medical School – Baystate.
“I have known Dr. Sankey since 1995, and she has a pleasant personality, which fares well with patients and staff,” Burk- man said. “She is a team player who is
a problem solver and is someone who listens carefully before making decisions. It is because of these many attributes
that Dr. Sankey was selected to be the first recipient of the Ronald T. Burkman Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gyne- cology.”
Added Sankey, “it is a great honor for Baystate and our department to be the recipient of this gift. It is special to me because Dr. Burkman has been a role model for me as department chair. He has mentored me through many career op-
portunities and continues to inspire me to be a better physician.”
Burkman noted that “it is our hope that providing this first endowed clinical departmental chair may interest other donors to make similar commitments to other departments or to endow positions other than the chair.”
Community Foundation Supports LifePath’s Work with Grant
GREENFIELD — LifePath received $40,000 from the Community Founda- tion of Western Massachusetts (CFWM). The grant, from the CFWM COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley, will offer continuing support to LifePath in its response to the COVID-19 crisis and in its role assisting residents of the Pioneer Valley with food insecurity and mental- health issues.
This is in addition to the $121,000 CFWM granted to LifePath in 2020 to provide pandemic relief and budget stabilization. Those monies were used
at the beginning of the pandemic to
help LifePath move quickly to adapt its programs, such as in-home assistance, meal delivery, and social support, to meet the changing needs of its consumers in
the safest way possible. As the pandemic continued, LifePath utilized the funds to quickly purchase and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to home health aides and personal-care attendants who spend hours inside the homes of consumers, as well as to distribute PPE to the 1,700 consumers themselves.
The funds from CFWM also enabled LifePath to begin contacting consumers to gauge their interest in receiving meals through a special program. This funding allowed LifePath to provide frozen meals to more than 200 consumers under age 60 who did not qualify for LifePath’s Meals on Wheels program. These consumers were going without proper nutrition due to the loss of some of their workers or
loss of access to the grocery store due to
COVID-19.
In addition, CFWM funds were used to
cover the costs of critically needed tech- nology, groceries, personal-care items, and to support LifePath’s operating budget.
“Working with the Community Foun- dation of Western Massachusetts has been a positive and meaningful experience as we’ve navigated and addressed the CO- VID crisis and related inequalities primar- ily created by age, geography, and health status,” said Barbara Bodzin, LifePath’s executive director. “I have a profound appreciation for CFWM’s efforts to put resources in the hands of those making the biggest difference in our communities. It’s not lost on us that there are hundreds of worthy nonprofit organizations in the Pioneer Valley. For LifePath to be viewed
as one carrying out a mission that matches the goals of CFWM’s donors, we feel valued.
“The pandemic has put those we serve at higher risk for isolation, malnutrition, and reduced access to supports, making
a vulnerable population even more so,” she added. “Funding received through
the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts allows LifePath consumers to live a better life than they might without the support CFWM so generously helps us to provide.”
34 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM MARCH/APRIL 2021