Defying early expectations of a hard climb, CalvertHealth
Medical Center’s largest fundraising effort in its history,
the United We Thrive for Cancer Care Campaign,”
has reached its ambitious $5-million goal to support
the critical and growing need for advanced cancer care
services – including a robotic surgery program – easily
accessible locally.
“At the heart of the campaign’s success was one universal truth”, said
Campaign Chair and Foundation Board Trusteee, Marianne Harms.
“Every single person I talked to has been touched by cancer.”
This sentiment was echoed by Denise Bowman, who was
Foundation chair during the campaign, “Everybody in some fashion, in
some way has experienced loss, has experienced pain, has watched a
loved one, a friend, a coworker, a family member go through the horrors
that cancer can present.”
Harms credits Bowman’s personal testimony as a breast cancer
survivor as paramount in helping people understand why the campaign
is so important to our community. “She put a face on our effort…she has
had some difficult diagnoses and was so willing to share her story.”
For Bowman, her reason is simple: “CalvertHealth provides health
care for my family, why wouldn’t I make it the best place to go.”
Federal, State Funds Support Robotics
According to Harms, the campaign got a major jump start with support
from our elected officials. She said Congressman Steny Hoyer was
instrumental in helping CalvertHealth obtain a $950,000 Health and Human Services grant. Additionally, the Southern
Maryland delegation led by Sen. Jack Bailey and
Del. Brian Crosby with support from House Speaker
Adrienne Jones was especially helpful in the medical
center securing $1.4 million in state funding.
These funds along with other individual
contributions helped support the addition of the
$3.5-million da Vinci® robotic assisted surgical (RAS)
system at CHMC. “Having a robotics program will
be a critical addition to our cancer service line,” said
CalvertHealth Cancer Program Director Dr. Theodore
Tsangaris. “This is an important investment that
will increase our capacity to handle complex and
delicate surgeries.”
Campaign Addresses Critical Components
The centerpiece of the campaign was CalvertHealth’s
affiliation with Duke Health, an NCI-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Center – providing patients in
the region with access to the latest thinking in cancer
care and opening doors to clinical trials locally later
this year.
Another critical need in cancer care is magnetic
resonance imaging. “Upgrading our MRI system will
play an important role in advancing patient care,”
said Dr. Kenneth Abbott, who chair’s CalvertHealth’s
Cancer Committee. “A major benefit of this enhanced
technology is faster scans, which means less anxiety
for the patient. At the same time, it produces better
images leading to a more accurate diagnosis.”
The campaign also helped fund the creation of a
cancer endowment to provide crucial support for
future needs of cancer patients. “The endowment is
our promise that we will continue to pursue the
priorities our community needs when it comes to
cancer,” said Harms.
A community appeal was launched last month to
address additional cancer needs. To make a donation,
call 410.414.4570 or go to:
calverthealthfoundation.org.
All donors to the campaign will be recognized
beginning in the fall.