A little over a year ago — when the ability to bring a transformative cancer-fighting system to Morristown Medical Center was not yet assured — hospital President Trish O’Keefe went before the board of Morristown Medical Center’s Foundation and gave them a challenge.
Simply put, O’Keefe said the hospital would not have the funding to secure the tens of millions of dollars for the MEVION S250-FIT proton therapy system — a system that has proven to dramatically improve outcomes for cancer patients — unless the foundation could raise $10 million in the next 90 days.
It did.
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Carl Goldberg, now the board’s chair, said the foundation board was able to raise $12 million. And it was able to do so in just 42 days.
Because it did, the hospital and Atlantic Health were able to hold a ground-breaking ceremony Tuesday morning, detailing how Morristown will be just the fourth hospital in the country to have the system — and how they hope the new system will be treat its first patient by the fall of 2026.
The day was just the latest example of how philanthropy drives so much of the health care advances in the state. New Jersey now has the facilities and research capabilities to match the efforts across the river thanks to the generosity of others.
And it does because of the generosity of individuals who are eager to provide life-changing moments to individuals who may never know their benefactors.
That spirit came out at that foundation meeting.
Goldberg thanked the foundation’s former chair, Robert Tufaro, for his leadership during that pivotal moment.
“Bob looked around, and we all shook our heads, ‘Yes,’ and we said, ‘We’re going to do it,’” Goldberg recalled.
Goldberg publicly thanked so many who stepped up, including the Margaret A. Darrin Charitable Trust; The Ferreira Family; The Gagnon Family Foundation; Douglas M. Noble Family Foundation; Robert and Catherine Tafaro; the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center; the Hampshire Foundation and longtime hospital supporters, Peter and Jane Simon.
Lois and Neil Gagnon said they didn’t think twice.
The Gagnon Family Foundation has been a major supporter of Morristown Medical Center over the years, including the lead gift in 2009 that created the Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute.
The Gagnons said their foundation only has one rule for giving: It has to be for transformational impact. This project more than met the requirement.
And though their foundation supports many causes, Lois Gagnon said Morristown Medical Center always will be a focus.
“Atlantic Health’s Morristown Hospital is our top priority,” she said. “We give to a lot of different organizations, but we’re always going to support this hospital.”
For the Gagnons, it’s personal. They said they have been supporting the hospital since it gave their daughter excellent care years ago.
That personal touch inspired Goldberg, too, leading to a gift from the Goldberg Family Charitable Fund.
He reflected on how the new system could have helped his wife, who lost her battle with cancer more than a decade ago. The moment has driven his giving ever since.
“I want to share a personal experience,” he told the crowd. “About the same time that Trish had come before the board to challenge us to get the proton therapy done, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Eric Whitman (the medical director of the oncology service line at Atlantic Health).
“My wife lost her battle to cancer in 2012, and she was cared for at Morristown Medical Center wonderfully well. Our family has been a grateful patient family ever since.
“Eric said something to me about a year ago today that really stuck with me. He said, ‘If this kind of therapy had been available in this community when your wife was ill, she might still be with us today.’ That meant something to me.”
Goldberg told the audience that everyone present was doing something to help others. It’s the ultimate in giving, he said.
Goldberg recalled something his grandmother said to him years ago.
“She talked to me about the Jewish concept of charity,” he said. “There are seven levels of charity, but the highest level of charity is when you give of yourself. And the ultimate benefit benefactor of that charity is anonymous to you.”
Goldberg said that scenario will play out at Morristown Medical Center. When the power of the proton therapy system becomes available next fall, many members of the community — many of whom don’t even know they have a health issue yet — will benefit.
“For that, I thank all of you,” he said.
