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April 15, 2020
Bequest Helps Baystate Frontlines Fight Covid-19
When Robert A. Shanley set up his trust decades ago, he never envisioned anything like the coronavirus pandemic.
A World War II veteran and professor, Robert simply wanted to support Baystate Medical Center (BMC) and Baystate Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, now known as Baystate Home Health and Hospice (BHH), with a meaningful future gift.
Making an Impact Now
Though Robert passed away in 2014, his thoughtful bequest gifts joined in the fight as COVID-19 emerged as a public health emergency. Funds from Robert’s gifts, combined with gifts from other donors, helped enable Baystate Health to be responsive and innovative in these challenging days.
With key services shut down to transform the hospital into a pandemic-ready facility, Baystate’s operating budget came under stress, as did its team of healthcare professionals and staff. The strength of Baystate Health Foundation’s endowment – made stronger by Robert’s bequest gifts – helped provide critical support to build a rapid response center in ten days, purchase PPE supplies, and prepare for a surge.
Support That Matters
With his bequest gifts, Robert demonstrated his belief in Baystate Health’s dedication to patients and the community, while showing his support for the compassionate care his beloved wife Charlotte received.
Baystate Health Foundation invested his bequests in its endowment to provide long-term financial stability. Each year, a portion of the income from these endowed funds is used to support the greatest needs of BMC and BHH.
“In times of crisis,” Mark Keroack, MD, Baystate Health president & CEO notes, “we have relied on our friends to open doors, create new sources of supply, and donate resources critical for the fight. We are so thankful for Robert Shanley and others who have strengthened Baystate Health with gifts from their estates. Bequest gifts provide financial stability and are a source of long-term support that mean so much for emerging needs.”
Want to ensure the vitality of Baystate Health for the future? Learn more about making leaving a lasting legacy here.
How Your Gift Helps
Your gifts to Baystate Health Foundation help us improve the health of the people in our communities every day, with quality and compassion. Your generosity provides Baystate Health with the resources to…
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| Provide the best possible clinical treatment and improve the quality of life for patients; | Educate the next generation of physicians, nurses, researches and other care providers; | Bolster access to care, education and preventative medicine for underserved communities. |