Hospital Receives $10 Million Gift

FALMOUTH- Falmouth Hospital announced yesterday a $10 million philanthropic gift by James M. and Ruth P. Clark for the development of a new Falmouth Hospital Oncology Center. The Clarks, of Penzance Point in Woods Hole and Palm Beach, Florida, are longtime supporters of the hospital.
“As a two-time cancer survivor,” Mr. Clark said in a press release, “I understand the importance of having comprehensive cancer services available, close to home. We hope that our gift will help to fill a void in cancer services in our community and will encourage others to give as well.”
The $10 million gift was the largest of several multi-million dollar gifts announced yesterday by Cape Cod Healthcare, the parent company of Falmouth Hospital, as the public phase of its $100 million capital campaign initiative was launched.
Mr. Clark is a former trustee of the Falmouth Hospital Foundation and the retired CEO of Hornblower, Weeks, Hempill and Noyes, a privately-held securties firm in New York.
The Clarks’ gift represents the largest single gift ever received by Falmouth Hospital and Cape Cod Healthcare, according to David Reilly, Cape Cod Healthcare spokesman.
The new cancer center will be named the James M. and Ruth P. Clark Oncology Center at Falmouth Hospital, and will be built on the Falmouth Hospital campus.
Patrick M. Butler, the hospital capital campaign chairman, said in a prepared statement, “In light of the challenges facing our healthcare system, it is imperative that we undertake a campaign to assure that services, facilities and staff are always there to meet the challenges and growing demands for quality health services on Cape Cod.”
The Oncology Center is now in the planning process, which is scheduled to last several months, and Cape Cod Healthcare plans to break ground on the project in 2009. The goal is to complete the entire project by summer or fall of 2010, Mr. Reilly said.
Cape Cod Healthcare, which also includes Cape Cod Hospital and the Visiting Nurses Association, is the leading provider of healthcare services for residents and visitors to Cape Cod, with more than 450 physicians, 4,500 employees, and 1,100 volunteers.