Lahey Health Affiliates Receive Grants to Improve Community Healthcare

Funds will support surgical and emergency services in Beverly and Burlington

Two Lahey Health affiliates have been awarded two grants from Cummings Foundation to help deliver advanced emergency and surgical care to northeastern Massachusetts. The $100,000 grants will support a planned new emergency department at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, as well as the final stages of an operating room expansion at Beverly Hospital, a member of Lahey Health.

“We are thrilled that Cummings Foundation has stepped forward to help Lahey Health affiliates ensure that leading-edge, patient-focused care is available close to home for residents of northeastern Massachusetts,” said Howard Grant, JD, MD, president and chief executive officer of Lahey Health. “Philanthropic support from organizations like Cummings Foundation fuels important facility and infrastructure upgrades that help our affiliates keep pace with new advances in medicine and technology, so that we can continue to take exceptional care of our patients, save more lives and deliver better surgical outcomes.”

At Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, a $100,000 Cummings Foundation grant will be applied toward construction of a 45,000-square-foot, relocated and expanded emergency department. The new emergency department will be nearly four times the size of the existing department. It will be a tertiary emergency center for communities north and west of Boston, to which affiliated hospitals throughout Lahey Health will refer high-acuity patients for major surgery, critical care and urgent consultations. Today’s emergency department was built to accommodate 17,000 patient visits annually, but currently experiences volumes closer to 39,000 annually. With the growth of the Lahey Health system, this facility must be equipped to accommodate as many as 47,000 patient visits annually. The planned expansion reflects Lahey Hospital & Medical Center’s ongoing transition from a stand-alone hospital and medical center to the flagship facility for an integrated new health system serving all of the Northeast, but especially communities north and west of Boston.

At Beverly Hospital, another $100,000 Cummings Foundation grant will support the final phase of an operating room expansion that includes three new rooms outfitted with custom-designed surgical technologies and sophisticated equipment that support minimally invasive procedures. The expansion brings the total number of ORs from seven to 10. In order to activate all 10 rooms, construction must be completed on a new peri-anesthesia care unit (PACU), which consists of pre-operative patient holding, day surgery, and post-operative recovery. The new PACU will feature a total of 31 bays (up from 22) to include an area dedicated to administering pre-surgical anesthesia blocks, a pediatric room for our youngest patients and their families, and enhanced privacy and more efficient layout for improved patient care. Construction of the PACU will be completed in July.

“We deeply appreciate Cummings Foundation’s generous support of Lahey Hospital & Medical Center and Beverly Hospital,” said Ann-Ellen Hornidge, chair of the Lahey Health Board of Trustees. “Lahey Health strives to provide the right care in the right place at the right time. This investment enables us to deliver exceptional community-based services so our patients don’t have to travel to receive the very best care.”

About Lahey Health

Lahey Health provides a full continuum of integrated health services throughout eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, comprising nationally recognized, award-winning hospitals, including an academic hospital and medical center, and community hospitals—primary care providers, specialist physicians, behavioral health services, post-acute programs, such as home health services, skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities, and senior care resources.

Together, we are making innovative, integrated healthcare more personal and more accessible. For more information, visit LaheyHealth.org and its member websites Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Beverly Hospital, Lahey Health Senior Care and Lahey Health Behavioral Services.

About Cummings Foundation

Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, Mass. With assets exceeding $1 billion, it is one of the very largest grant-making foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including two New Horizons senior communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single grant to date was $50 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.