A Message from Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel

For close to 100 years Griffin Hospital has been providing acute and preventive healthcare services that respond to the needs of our community and its residents. In the fall of 2008, as we approach the 100th anniversary of our founding, we will open our new Ambulatory Care Pavilion and Community Cancer Center. This facility will meet long-standing community needs by providing comprehensive cancer treatment services locally including state of the art radiation therapy services and by allowing for the much needed expansion of our Emergency Department.

In the early 1990s we committed to providing an exceptional patient experience by embracing the Planetree patient-centered care model that included creating a unique healing environment. In 1994, we opened the North Wing patient care building that set a new standard for inpatient care and went on to win the nation’s top healthcare facility design awards. More than 600 hospitals have since visited Griffin to tour the facility and learn about the Planetree care model.

We now embark on our most ambitious building program since with the construction of a 49,000 square foot Ambulatory Care Pavilion and Community Cancer Center located on our new West Campus. Our design team is excited and believes that the facility will again set a new standard for others to emulate, just as our North Wing has.

But our goal is not limited to providing an outstanding facility. The Cancer Center will offer the latest generation of radiation therapy technology, Image Guided Radiation Therapy, which targets tumors with pinpoint precision in order to spare surrounding tissue. Medical oncologists, including Griffin’s Chief of Medical Oncology Dr. Jeff Orell, and various surgical sub-specialists will be located in the facility for outstanding care coordination. A team approach will facilitate communication between physicians, caregivers, and patients. Complementary therapies and support services will also be available in the Center to ensure that care provided attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of the Center’s patients in addition to their physical needs.

The cost of the project is just over $33 million and as part of the approval process we committed to raise $5.5 million of the cost through philanthropic support. To date, with the support of employees, physicians, board members and foundations we have raised $2.4 million almost half of our goal. More than half of our employees contributed a total of $750,000 far exceeding the 35% average employee participation level in fund raising by the nation’s hospitals. I am inspired by and grateful to our employees for their generosity.

We now launch the community phase of our “Breaking New Ground” fund raising campaign reaching out to our community – patients, residents, corporations – for their support. Over the next few months you will be asked to make a gift to the campaign. I hope you will respond generously and help position Griffin for its second century of meeting the healthcare needs of our community.

If you want to make a gift now, call the Griffin Development Office at (203) 732-7504 or click here to find out how you can support this effort. A video narrated by Emmy Award winning journalist Diane Smith with a virtual walk-through of the new Community Cancer Center is available on the Griffin Hospital web site at www.griffinhealth.org.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Patrick Charmel

President and CEO

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A Message from Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel

Community Support

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A Vision Takes Shape