NEWS

Exeter Hospital Cancer Care receives $1 million gift from grateful patient

Portsmouth Herald
Michael and Jeanne Falzone were recently honored for their $1 million gift to the Together We Can capital campaign. They are pictured here with Kevin Callahan, President and CEO of Exeter Health Resources (right) and Davis Farmer, Chair of the Campaign Cabinet.

EXETER – Exeter Hospital’s Center for Cancer Care has received the largest gift of the hospital’s first capital campaign in almost four decades from grateful patients Michael and Jeanne Falzone of North Hampton. 

This $1 million gift was donated as the hospital kicks off the public phase of the $4 million “Together We Can” Capital Campaign, investing in expanded spaces, new services and breakthrough treatments that advance and transform cancer care for the greater Seacoast community. 

Michael Falzone received cancer treatment at Exeter Hospital. He and his wife Jeanne made their donation with a deep sense of gratitude to the entire staff, especially Michael’s oncologist, Dr. Panos Fidias. Due to the impactful and history-making nature of the gift, the Exeter Hospital Board of Trustees voted to rename the Center for Cancer Care the Michael and Jeanne Falzone Center for Cancer Care. 

“The staff at Exeter Hospital are so caring and responsive – everyone from the front desk to the infusion ward,” said Jeanne Falzone about their experience. Regarding the donation, she went on to say “When I bring Michael to his appointments and treatments, I see people of all ages and walks of life, each of them suffering quietly with cancer – and I want this gift to make their visits to Exeter more comfortable. We want to create a more spacious, comfortable, calming and healing environment for the patients and their loved ones while they are going through such a difficult time in their lives. That’s why this gift is so important to us.” 

As part of the campaign, the Falzone’s gift will improve the center’s physical layout and patient experience by bringing the radiation and medical oncology units together while outfitting the center with larger infusion bays and the latest technology and equipment. Since breaking ground in August, cancer care services have not be interrupted during the renovation and expansion. 

Coordination with Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center will continue, with onsite Mass General oncologists and nurse practitioners working alongside Exeter Hospital providers to ensure the highest level of cancer care.  

“The philosophy that drives our practice, and was the catalyst for the collaboration between Exeter Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, is to provide academic-level expertise and care in the community where patients and their families live,” remarked Dr. Panos Fidias, medical director for medical oncology and hematology at Exeter Hospital’s Michael and Jeanne Falzone Center for Cancer Care, and a Mass General Cancer Center oncologist. 

“The Campaign Cabinet for Exeter Hospital is grateful and inspired by the way our philanthropic community has stepped forward in support of our fundraising efforts on behalf of those in the Seacoast who are affected by cancer,” said Together We Can Campaign Chair Davis Farmer of East Kingston. “We are excited to take this campaign public and get the entire community engaged. We want nothing less than to be the best place for cancer care in the region.”

According to Exeter Health Resources’ President and CEO Kevin Callahan, “Together we can be the benchmark of a new standard of excellence that combines world-class doctors, the finest and most compassionate staff, and a state-of-the-art cancer care facility.” 

The Together We Can Capital Campaign consists of four comprehensive components totaling $4 million: $3 million for the Center for Cancer Care expansion and renovation, $500,000 for improved community-based, inpatient pediatric care, $250,000 for mental health crises care and $250,000 for the Susan Burns-Tisdale Patient Care Excellence Award, recognizing outstanding Exeter Hospital healthcare providers. The Together We Can Campaign is the first major capital campaign at Exeter Hospital since the late 1970s. The total project cost of the facility renovation and expansion is $11 million with a projected completion of construction by summer 2022. 

For more information about the “Together We Can” Capital Campaign or to support the campaign, visit unitedinwellness.org