Southcoast Health announced today that it has exceeded the $20 million mark in its $25 million multi-year capital campaign, which is the largest in the not-for-profit healthcare system’s history.

The Campaign for Southcoast Health is currently raising funds and seeking commitments to support three major initiatives: the Harold and Virginia Lash Heart and Vascular Center at Charlton Memorial Hospital, the Stoico / FIRSTFED Maternity Center at St. Luke’s Hospital and a major expansion of the Tobey Hospital Emergency Department. The campaign also seeks to increase unrestricted donations to the Southcoast Health Annual Fund, which enables the system to immediately put dollars to work to support the areas of greatest need.

“Southcoast selected these priorities to address specific needs in our community and I am deeply touched by how our community has responded,” said Keith A. Hovan, President & CEO of Southcoast Health. “This campaign does much more than merely raise the bar for quality, innovation and patient-focused care; it ensures that such care will be available to the community for years to come.”

Southcoast Health is the only provider of maternity services in the South Coast region. Each year nearly 3,500 babies are delivered between its three acute-care hospitals with 1,500 of those births taking place at St. Luke’s. Maternity services at all three sites offer a family-centered approach that provides the right combination of compassionate care and the latest technology.

The Lash Heart and Vascular Center at Charlton is home to Southcoast Health’s nationally recognized Cardiovascular Services, including a hybrid operating room and state-of-the-art catheterization and electrophysiology labs. The Lash Heart and Vascular Center is one of the busiest diagnostic and treatment centers in the state, providing lifesaving services for thousands of patients each year.

The new Emergency Department at Tobey Hospital will have the capacity to treat 40,000 patients a year. The current Emergency Department was designed to serve 15,000 patients annually, but treated more than 30,000 patients last year. The expanded facility will have 30 private treatment rooms for improved comfort and privacy and will greatly reduce wait times for patients.

“Whether the gift is $10, $100 or $1 million or $7 million it is so encouraging that people are giving what they can to ensure that their neighbors have full access to quality healthcare,” said Jean MacCormack and Nicholas Christ, who are Co-Chairing the Campaign for Southcoast Health.  “The generosity of our donors is a prime example of neighbors taking care of neighbors in their time of need.”

Any gift, no matter the size or designation, is important to Southcoast Health’s mission of delivering the best care possible to our patients and their families. To learn more about the campaign or to make a gift or commitment, please contact Bridget A. Flynn, Director of Major Giving & Capital Campaigns, at flynnb@southcoast.org or 508-973-5706.