Annual Benefactors Appreciation Reception
September 27, 2007
Photo Album
Almost 200 friends and supporters gathered with Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center leadership and faculty on the evening of September 27 to celebrate the progress of the Transforming Medicine Campaign. The annual Benefactors Appreciation Reception brings our donors together to learn how their generosity is improving lives in our community and beyond.
A special announcement by Dartmouth College President James Wright gave added cause for celebration at this year's reception. Those attending were the first to learn that campaign chair Dr. Peter Williamson and his wife, Susan, have made a $20 million gift commitment to the Medical School and Medical Center. Their gift is the largest single gift in the history of Dartmouth Medical School. It brings the campaign total raised to $190 million toward its $250 million goal.
Play President Wright's Announcement
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The Williamsons' landmark gift will strengthen translational research and the academic mission of DMS and the Medical Center. In a statement read by President Wright, Dr. Williamson said, "I believe in the excellence of Dartmouth medicine and its ability to truly transform medicine. Susan and I feel this is exactly the right time to make a contribution of this magnitude to support the academic mission of DMS and hope this will inspire others to contribute as well. We must make this investment in our future, so we can continue to meet the challenges and expand our knowledge and our ability to care for patients. This is a pivotal moment for Dartmouth medicine and we are thrilled to be part of its future. The academic medical mission is every bit as important as the clinical mission. The research and teaching allows us to provide the very best care we are able to deliver to patients."
Outside the elegantly decorated tent that housed the celebration, loud claps of thunder accompanied the evening program, adding emphasis - and an even greater sense of magnitude - to the announcement of the Williamson gift. Audience members rose to their feet to give Peter and Susan Williamson a standing ovation for their generosity and leadership.
Another highlight of the evening was the honoring of Joan "Posey" Fowler as 2007 Outstanding Community Ambassador. Nancy Formella, President of Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, presented the award, recognizing Mrs. Fowler as "someone who by thought, word, and deed exemplifies a passionate commitment to her community, and to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth Medical School."
Born at "the Hitch" and raised in Hanover, Mrs. Fowler began volunteering for the hospital as a young girl, helping her mother roll bandages. She has served DHMC in many capacities, including MHMH Trustee and Annual Fund Chair, DHMC Trustee, and member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Assembly of Overseers. That very morning, she had been at the DHMC information desk at 8:00 a.m. to work one of her regular volunteer shifts there.
Play Posey Fowler receives the Outstanding Community Ambassador Award
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Dr. James Weinstein, director of the newly renamed Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (formerly the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences, or CECS) delivered the evening's keynote address. In a talk titled "Does the Doctor Always Know Best?" Weinstein discussed his pioneering work in shared decision-making, a program that helps patients make informed choices about treatment for a variety of health conditions. This model, now being adopted at other medical centers across the country, is giving us all a greater voice in our own medical care.
Play "Does the Doctor Always Know Best?"
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In other campaign news, Vice President for Development Brian Lally announced that the year ending June 30, 2007 was a record-breaking fundraising year for the Medical School and Medical Center, with 25,496 donors making gifts and pledges totaling more than $43 million. Since the launch of the Transforming Medicine Campaign in 2002, 65,000 donors have participated - a figure that Lally equated to the combined population of 16 towns surrounding DHMC. "Put very simply, without you, these institutions could not be," said Lally.