Bryn Mawr Hospital launches life-saving Interventional Procedure Suite project
In addition to its ranking as one of the top 10 hospitals out of nearly 100 in the Philadelphia region and among the top 20 hospitals in the entire state of Pennsylvania, BMH's cardiovascular and neurointerventional capabilities and outcomes have led to:
- Joint Commission accreditation as a Thrombectomy-Capable Center for our ischemic (clot) stroke intervention
- Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care accreditation as a Chest Pain Center for our expertise in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of heart attack.
- American Heart Association Mission Lifeline achievement award for our treatment of high-risk emergencies including heart attack and stroke.
- American Heart association/American Stroke Association Get with the Guidelines® elite honor roll status for our timely stroke interventions.
While BMH's capabilities and experience performing the most complex interventional procedures is superior, our physical facility and equipment will be best positioned to further improve patient outcomes, support our skilled team and enhance the patient experience with an investment to expand our suite and adopt the latest technology.
The increasing ability to treat disease using non-surgical interventions, along with an aging population in our region, is driving demand for these services, prompting the need to create an expanded and adaptable interventional suite that will serve our community for years to come. This new facility will raise the standards of our equipment and physical environment to better match BMH's highly-specialized and dedicated staff performing a wide variety of complex interventional procedures that save lives, restore quality of life, and help patients experience fuller recoveries.
With construction already underway, this $34 million expansion project will be bolstered by an effort to raise $5 million in philanthropic support before the suite becomes operational in summer 2022. For more information on this project please contact Cinda Johnson, Director of Development, at JohnsonLu@mlhs.org or 484.337.8610.
Leaving a legacy of care
Professionally, during his 45-year career at Wyeth Laboratories, Justin McCarthy once directed polio vaccine programs in 65 cities that immunized 129 million children. Locally, Justin was well known as Chairman of the Radnor Township Board of Health, the Chief Lector at, and a Minister of the Holy Eucharist for St. Katharine's Roman Catholic Church. He also served as Commissioner of Wayne Little League Baseball and founded and presided over the W.A.Y.N.E. Teen Center (Wayne Area Youth Need Encouragement).
Inez McCarthy served as President of the Friends of Radnor Memorial Library, the League of Women Voters, and the Radnor High School Scholarship Fund. With their love of crossword puzzles, gardening, and sports, the McCarthys also showed a spirit of fun and a mischievous sense of humor. Their son Dan shares, "When late May rolled around, Dad would jokingly call Mom 'Madame Hot Dog,' because of the time she spent manning the hot dog stand at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair."
Involvement with the life of their community was second nature to the McCarthys. They continued their dedication to the organizations they loved by remembering them in their estate plans. Bryn Mawr Hospital recently learned from Dan and his brother John that the hospital was one of several charities that stood to benefit from a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) the couple had created.
"Too few are aware of CRUTs and their extraordinary value as an estate planning tool," said Dan. "I work in financial services and realized that the philanthropic, income, and tax benefits a CRUT offers were ones my parents would want to consider, so I shared the idea with them."
In fact, Dan relates that the first CRUT worked so well for his parents that they funded a second one both of which are benefitting Bryn Mawr. Given the McCarthys' charitable intent, these instruments enabled them not only to make significant gifts, but also to retain a lifetime income. They also enjoyed certain tax advantages as well as provided for their heirs in the way they structured their giving strategy. The two CRUTs played an instrumental role in helping to secure for them a comfortable retirement and to leave substantive gifts to their favored charities.
Dan reports that Bryn Mawr Hospital was their family's community hospital, where his youngest sister was born, and the family sought care during occasional emergency department visits. Both of his sisters, Patricia, and Anne served as candy stripers there. He recalls that their general practitioner was Dr. Alexander O'Neal, a beloved icon at Bryn Mawr Hospital. Dan also vividly remembers, as children, how much he and his siblings missed their Mother while she spent several days at the hospital recovering from a surgical procedure, mainly because "Dad was Dad, but he wasn't a very good Mom!"
Justin and Inez left their CRUT distributions to benefit the hospital as unrestricted funds. However, when Dan began discussing the gifts with Cinda Johnson, Director of Development at Bryn Mawr Hospital and learned of the campaign to renovate and enlarge the Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit at the hospital, a natural fit emerged.
Justin, who retired from Wyeth as Director of Professional & Public Relations, had a special interest in mental health and received numerous professional accolades for his involvement with many medical organizations. This included the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP). Typically, only licensed psychiatrists can become GAP members, but due to his decades-long activities and participation, Justin was awarded honorary membership. He was proud to have attended more of GAP's annual meetings than anyone.
Dan spent some of his early career years working as a House Parent & Recreational Counselor for the Devereux Foundation until he joined Paoli Memorial Hospital as a Mental Health Technician in their inaugural psychiatric unit. He and his siblings felt that his parents would be pleased to see their gifts helping advance behavioral health care in the community where they lived, raised a family and prospered.
Bryn Mawr Hospital is fortunate to benefit from the far-reaching generosity of those like Justin and Inez McCarthy, whose devotion to helping others leaves a legacy that will live on as we care for vulnerable patients in our new Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit.
For more information on planned giving options please contact Cinda Johnson, Director of Development, at JohnsonLu@mlhs.org or 484.337.8610.
Thank you for making a difference at Bryn Mawr Hospital!
With the strain of a global pandemic continuing to touch our lives daily and having a dramatic impact on our Hospital environment for more than 19 months now, we are more grateful than ever that you have chosen Bryn Mawr Hospital among your philanthropic priorities. On behalf of the Bryn Mawr Hospital team, we extend our deepest thanks to each and every one of our supporters, including Gerhard Society members who give $1,000 or more each year. Your dedication and generosity have contributed to the overall wellbeing of our patients, their families, and this community over the past year. Philanthropy has had a direct impact on hospital services and you can learn more about its effects by visiting the Gerhard Impact Storytelling section of our website. We hope you feel a sense of pride that your charitable investment in Bryn Mawr Hospital is worthwhile, meaningful, and very tangible.
We are reminded daily that it is your generous spirit and sense of community service that has been the bedrock of Bryn Mawr Hospital's success for more than 128 years and will be an ever-increasingly important foundation for its future.
Become a member or renew your membership with the Gerhard Society
MLH Brings innovation and accessibility to health care in King of Prussia
Nearly one year later, on February 25, 2021, more than 200 of our friends and supporters joined us for a virtual tour showcasing the unique services offered in this state-of-the-art health care destination. Then and now, there is still so much to celebrate.
"Main Line Health King of Prussia represents a new approach to health care," said Jack Lynch, president and CEO of Main Line Health. "In planning this facility, our goal was to provide an exceptional experience that encapsulates holistic wellness—notably the distinct preventative, diagnostic, and treatment needs of each individual patient, especially women. It is a concept that's been years in the making, and a shining example of our commitment to patient health in its entirety."
Located in the Village at Valley Forge, Main Line Health King of Prussia offers primary care, more than 25 medical specialties, lab and imaging services, rehabilitation services, a robust calendar of community events, and exceptional amenities. Specialists include integrative and functional medicine service providers, who search for connections between a patient's medical history and their lifestyle to determine the root cause of ailments. These experts view patients through a holistic lens to help them achieve optimal health.
In addition, our newest site serves as home to the Women's Specialty Center, developed in partnership with Axia Women's Health and aimed at delivering the complete spectrum of physical, emotional, and wellness needs for women—all under one roof. The center offers coordinated, customized care including breast health, reproductive health, headache care, heart care, maternity care, vein care, weight management, and much more. Amenities abound, including the Wellness Porch—a meticulously curated shop featuring an assortment of products recommended by our physicians. Displayed at the shop's entrance is a tapestry created with pieces of fabric contributed by our employees and patients. This "Fabric of Our Community" is a one-of-a-kind art installation.
King of Prussia also presented a natural fit when we sought a second location for our expanding Women's Emotional Wellness Center (WEWC). Already part of our Newtown Square health center, the WEWC provides comprehensive behavioral health services for women experiencing depression, anxiety, and other concerns. The new King of Prussia location includes one of the only mental health partial hospitalization programs in the country exclusively for women. We are especially grateful to the Paoli Hospital Women's Auxiliary for its support of the WEWC.
Perhaps the most unique facet of Main Line Health King of Prussia is the Rooftop Farm. This 6,500-squarefoot space, set in motion by a generous commitment from Aramark, will serve as a therapeutic, educational, and nutritional hub for our patients and the entire community. Visitors are already learning how to take charge of their nutrition through our Guest Chef series, as well as popup demonstrations occurring throughout the facility.
Notably, through partnerships with local municipalities, nonprofit organizations, colleges, and universities, we will be able to help meet the challenges of food insecurity. The fresh produce grown on our Rooftop Farm will be given to community members in need.
"Main Line Health is about people—those we serve and those who serve others," said Lynch. "Everything about Main Line Health King of Prussia has been designed with a focus on the patient today and the health of our community in the future. We're proud to provide the exceptional compassion and expert care we're known for in this extraordinary space." In fact, the facility itself has been recognized by the International Interior Design Association of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware with its Best of Healthcare Design Award. Jurors "celebrated the atmosphere created in the space, with many unique elements that transport you out of a medical facility and into a hospitality environment."
"What we hope patients will feel the moment they walk into the building is the healing environment," said Donna Phillips, president of Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital and senior executive of Ambulatory and Professional Services for Main Line Health. Phillips led the project and continues to serve as point person for the new facility.
"This beautiful health center offers a safe and calming place, filled with the expertise to address every medical need in the community," continued Phillips. "Too often, health care is episodic, and focuses only on a particular illness. By providing a coordinated approach to primary and specialty care, we're able to focus on the full continuum of a patient's health. There is so much to be gained when the health and wellness journey is a collaborative partnership. Main Line Health King of Prussia is the manifestation of what community health care can and should be."
Because of your continued generosity, we are proudly leading the way in providing accessible health care for our community. There are many naming and sponsorship opportunities still available at Main Line Health King of Prussia. To learn how you can help make a difference, please contact Karrie Borgelt, senior vice president of development, at borgeltk@mlhs.org or 484.580.4144.