Harrington Launches $8.8 Million Fundraising Campaign to Rebuild the Emergency Department in Webster

WEBSTER, Mass., March 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Harrington HealthCare System today formally launched a fundraising campaign to rebuild the Emergency Department at its Webster campus, Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard. The $8.8 million Strengthening Our Future campaign will enable Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard to continue to deliver the highest quality care to its patients.

Harrington HealthCare System CEO Edward H. Moore announced at a Strengthening Our Future kick-off ceremony at Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard today that Harrington has a $4 million anonymous challenge match from a local donor. The campaign also has received an additional $434,500 in donations and pledges from local individuals, businesses and five financial institutions -- Webster Five Foundation, Savers Bank, Southbridge Savings Bank, Hometown Bank, and a grant from TD Bank which will partially fund donor management software. Combined with the anonymous match, the total amount pledged comes to $869,000.

The event was attended by residents, Harrington employees and local, state and federal officials, including Congressman Richard Neal, State Senator Richard Moore, and State Representatives Kevin Kuros and Ryan Fattman.

"We have been extremely gratified by the generosity of both the businesses and the individuals in this community during our initial silent phase of the campaign," Harrington CEO Edward H. Moore said. "Since 1929, this site has been the focal point of healthcare for individuals, institutions and businesses in Webster, Dudley, Douglas, Oxford, Thompson and surrounding communities. Meeting our campaign goals will ensure that those who live and work in this region will continue to receive state-of-the-art healthcare, close to home, for many years to come."

"This Emergency Department has always been an essential piece of the Webster community," said Terri Colognesi, Chairman of the Board of Harrington HealthCare System. "The opportunity to expand and renovate the ER into a bright, modern ER facility with board-certified ER docs is one that is a winning proposal for Webster and its surrounding communities. It is a commitment by Harrington HealthCare for Total Local Care in South Central Worcester County – and only means good things for the area's citizens, schools and employers."

Harrington has received donations or commitments from every member of the Hubbard Health Systems Board of Directors, said Pamela Zouranjian Connor, Site Administrator at Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard. Harrington has a 10-year renewable lease on the land and the facility at 340 Thompson Road in Webster, which is owned by Hubbard Health Systems.

"The Emergency Department at Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard is a key component of healthcare in this region," said Zouranjian Connor. "The Emergency Department currently handles 12,000 visits per year, a number that is expected to grow to approximately 15,000 in the next three years. In order to continue to meet the healthcare needs of this community, we must expand and modernize this facility."

"As a longtime advocate of Harrington Hospital, I am very pleased to be a part of this important fund-raising campaign," said Congressman Richard E. Neal. "Not only does it represent Harrington's continuing investment in the community, but is another example of their commitment to bring quality and emergency care to South County. I congratulate CEO Ed Moore and the entire team at Harrington HealthCare System on today's announcement, and I look forward to being an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign."

"In an emergency, seconds count! There can be no higher health priority than providing the people of the Webster area with a first-class emergency hospital department to support the skilled emergency professionals who serve us and care for us and our loved ones at critical moments in our lives," said State Senator Richard T. Moore, who is the State Senate Chairman of the Committee on Health Care Financing.

To make a charitable donation to the campaign, please go to www.harringtonhospital.org.

The Emergency Department at Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard was constructed in 1955 and has not had a major renovation since that time. It has five beds in 430 square feet of space, an inadequate number of seats in the waiting area, and an ambulance entry that merges with the radiology entry, creating potential congestion.

Harrington is focused on providing the best possible care to patients in the Webster Emergency Department. Through a concerted effort from the entire staff, the average waiting time from arrival to being seen by a physician is 15 minutes, down from approximately an hour two years ago. In addition, Harrington has set a standard that the Emergency Department physicians be board certified in Emergency Medicine and the nursing staff be certified in Emergency Nursing.

The planned reconstruction of the Emergency Department includes the following important elements:

• Nine treatment rooms, including a Trauma, Cardiac and Negative Pressure Room,
• Expansion from 3,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet,
• The purchase and installation of all new state-of-the-art equipment,
• A private family waiting room,
• Improved patient privacy and comfort, including a new registration area to accommodate the increasing numbers of patients while protecting their privacy,
• Three separate areas for psychiatric emergency services patients,
• A rebuilt and enhanced ambulance entrance,
• A newly constructed main entrance and lobby.

Construction is expected to begin in the later part of 2012.

HARRINGTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM is a comprehensive regional healthcare system serving the needs of Southern Worcester County and Northern Connecticut through:

• The 114-bed acute-care Harrington Hospital in Southbridge that provides medical and surgical inpatient care, 24-hour emergency services, psychiatric care, pediatrics and obstetrical care, intensive/coronary care and comprehensive outpatient services;
• Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard in Webster, an outpatient facility anchored by a 24/7 Emergency Department that also includes primary care and specialty physicians, diagnostic imaging, laboratory, cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal services, same-day surgery and a sleep lab;
• Harrington HealthCare at Charlton, a medical office building that houses primary care and specialty physicians, diagnostic imaging, laboratory, outpatient behavioral health and rehabilitation services, and the region's only wound care center with hyperbaric oxygen chambers;
• Harrington Physician Services, our primary care and multi-specialty physician group that consists of more than four-dozen physicians located in offices in Brimfield, Charlton, Dudley, Southbridge, Sturbridge and Webster;
• A free-standing treatment center, The Cancer Center at Harrington, in Southbridge, that allows patients to receive advanced, local oncological care, including chemotherapy, counseling, pain management and reconstructive surgery. Through our joint venture partner Radiation Therapy Services, the center offers advanced radiation therapy techniques, including Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Image-Guided Radiation Therapy.

SOURCE Harrington HealthCare System