Capital Health News

Bristol-Myers Squibb Donates $5 million to Capital Health

April 28, 2010

Read the announcement in the Times newspaper.
Read about the announcement in the Trentonian newspaper.
See the WPVI - Action News television announcement.

Capital Health Launches $25 million Campaign

TRENTON, NJ – The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and Capital Health today announced a $5 million gift from the Foundation to support the hospital system’s regional trauma center.

The announcement of the gift also served to launch the Capital Health Foundation’s Campaign for Capital Health fundraising campaign.

“We are truly grateful to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation for this generous gift that will support the lifesaving work of our trauma department,” said Al Maghazehe, CEO and president of Capital Health. “We are also extremely proud of the important common mission to enhance human health that we share with Bristol-Myers Squibb and are pleased to have this opportunity to continue to partner with them to further advance that mission.”

Members of Capital Health and Bristol-Myers Squibb joined together on April 28 to celebrate a $5
million gift from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to support the hospital system’s regional trauma center.
From left are Al Maghazehe, CEO & president, Capital Health; Arline Stephan, executive
director, Capital Health Foundation; Miles Truesdell, Jr., chair, Capital Health Foundation Board of Directors;
Dr. Louis D'Amelio, Director, Bristol-Myers Squibb Trauma Center at
Capital Health Regional Medical Center; Anthony Hooper, senior vice president Commercial
Operations and president, U.S. Japan and Intercontinental, Bristol-Myers Squibb;
Samuel Plumeri, Jr., chair, Capital Health Board of Directors; John Damonti, president of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation,
and vice president of corporate philanthropy for Bristol-Myers Squibb;
Dr. Patricia Doykos, director of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and
Fred Egenolf, director of Community Affairs.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation are proud to partner with Capital Health to address unmet medical needs and eliminate health disparities, especially in a traditionally underserved community such as Trenton,” said John Damonti, president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. “When patients require trauma care, their lives are literally hanging in the balance. At perhaps no other time is the availability of quality health care more important.”

“With this gift, Bristol-Myers Squibb has demonstrated once again its sincere commitment to our community. We are fortunate to have them as a partner,” said Samuel J. Plumeri, chairman, Capital Health Board of Directors.

The Campaign for Capital Health, the largest campaign in the history of the organization, has set a $25 million fundraising goal to support the construction of Capital Health’s new hospital in Hopewell and extensive expansion of the Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.

“Like no other time in its rich history, Capital Health is poised to take a leadership role and set the pace for healthcare like no other in the State of New Jersey,” said Maghazehe. “The funds raised from the Campaign for Capital Health, will enable us to continue on this course to provide our community and this region with the best that medicine has to offer.”

“Campaign leadership and Capital Health Foundation staff have achieved unprecedented success and have to date received commitments in excess of $17 million from numerous donors, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, who believe in the Capital Health vision,” said Miles Truesdell, chairman, Capital Health Foundation board. “This is a precedent setting fundraising initiative at levels almost unheard of in our community with tremendous early success in funds raised from generous donors."

The trauma team at Capital Health treats more than 1,000 of the most severely injured patients annually. These include victims of automobile accidents, pedestrians struck, industrial accidents and violent crime. The team is comprised of surgeons, neurosurgeons, interventional radiologists, anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians, and therapists who are available in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

The trauma center will be named The Bristol-Myers Squibb Trauma Center at Capital Health Regional Medical Center. It is one of seven designated Level II trauma centers in the state. In concert with the state’s three Level I trauma centers, Level II trauma centers are the backbone of New Jersey’s statewide trauma care system. The Trauma Center is the regional referral center for severely injured patients in Mercer County and adjacent parts of Somerset, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Burlington, and Middlesex counties as well as Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It is the sole trauma center for nearly half a million people.

The $530 million state-of-the-art Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2011, will be home to the Regional Cancer Center, CyberKnife Center and Women’s and Children’s Pavilion as well as a wide array of acute care services. The expansion of the Capital Health Regional Medical Center is scheduled to be completed at the same time and headquarter the Regional Perinatal Center that is being relocated from the Mercer hospital. In addition to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Trauma Center, CHRMC offers advanced medical services such as the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center of NJ and regional services such as emergency behavioral health and kidney dialysis.