Second Century Fund Unveiled

(Honesdale, March 18, 2019)… The theme was “A Night at the Oscars,” and Wayne Memorial’s leadership took full advantage of the Hollywood connection. At the hospital Auxiliary’s annual Mistletoe Ball on March 16th, a video that opened with the music of the Academy Awards and the words,  the “biggest production ever”—kicked off the hospital’s Second Century Fund.  Named in honor of Wayne Memorial’s centennial in 2020, the fund is a drive to raise monies to staff and equip the hospital’s new patient tower for the future.  The tower, an 85,000 square foot building housing 50 private patient rooms, was funded separately and will open later this spring.

“Our building project will make us one of the most modern hospitals in the state,” said WMH CEO David Hoff, “with technically advanced, spacious private patient rooms. This will be a facility that our community members deserve and will help Wayne Memorial be successful in many ways.”

Hoff also talked about the hospital’s successes of the past year, including re-accreditation for its Primary Stroke Center and Trauma Level IV Program. The hospitals cardiac catheterization lab, the Heart & Vascular Center, which opened in 2016, saw its 1,000th patient.

The Second Century Fund was developed to help the hospital continue to be successful by attracting the best medical providers possible to work at Wayne Memorial, particularly in the new tower. “Doing so is no small challenge,” Hoff said, “but this campaign points us in the right direction.”

The Fund’s four main goals are to recruit healthcare professionals with greater incentives; to purchase state of the art medical equipment; to implement future medical treatment modalities; and to acquire advanced informational technologies.

The Mistletoe announcement opened the fundraising drive to the community, although donations had been solicited privately months earlier to help assess the success of the campaign. Wayne Memorial Board Chairman Dirk Mumford thanked those who had already committed more than $2 million, or two thirds of the campaign’s minimum goal of $3 million.

“Our total includes $600,000 from the Auxiliary, over $600,000 from employees, medical staff and Board Members,” Mumford told Mistletoe attendees, “plus more than $800,000 in advanced gifts from individuals and organizations in the community. We can’t thank them enough and hope their gifts inspire others to give to their nonprofit community hospital.”

Second Century committee members include Chairman Leonard Schwartz; Community Drive Chair Brian Wilken; Foundation Chair Nancy Propst; Wayne Memorial Health Foundation Executive Director Jack Dennis; William Dewar III, MD; Rich Garman; WMH CEO David Hoff; Wendell Hunt, WMH/WMHS Board; Marc Honigfeld;  A.G. Howell, Esq., Foundation Board; Paul Meagher Sr.; WMH/WMHS Board Chair Dirk Mumford; Kellyn Nolan; Milton Roegner, Foundation Board; Bill Schweighofer; Wayne Health Services Board Chair Bob Suhosky; and Justin Genzlinger.

For more information about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit the Second Century Fund on www.wmh.org or call (570) 253-8273.

Photo at the Mistletoe Ball:   Back row left to right: A.G. Howell, Esq.; Bob Suhosky, chair Wayne Health Services Board; Nany Propst, chair Wayne Memorial Health Foundation; Leonard  Schwartz, chair Second Century Fund; Dirk Mumford, chair Wayne Memorial Hospital/Health System Board; Brian Wilken, chair Community Drive for Second Century; David Hoff, WMH CEO. Front row: Joan Buehl, WMH Auxiliary; Marianne McConeghy, WMH Auxiliary; Gary Mesko, WMH Auxiliary; Michelle Corrigan, RN/WMH Auxiliary; Alice Fino-Ewonishon, WMH Auxiliary; Melissa Rickard DNP, CRNP/WMH Auxiliary; Nancy Moro, WMH Auxiliary/Mistletoe chair; Danielle Hedgelon, WMH Auxiliary/Mistletoe co-chair; Rosemarie Corigliano, WMH Auxiliary president.