Lawrence + Memorial Hospital announces $2 million lead matching gift from the Peter O. Crisp family to seed a $5 million campaign from the Fishers Island community to name the Emergency Department

NEW LONDON, CT (Aug. 24, 2022) Lawrence + Memorial Hospital announced today a $2 million lead matching gift from the Peter O. Crisp Family of Fishers Island, NY, to seed a campaign from the Fishers Island community to raise $5 million in support of the hospital’s Emergency Department renovation project which will be named in recognition of their contributions.

The campaign, led by Chairs Tracy and Jim Rutherfurd, and 20 families that have joined the campaign committee, has already raised more than $2.5 million bringing the total raised to date to $4.5 million.

Residents of Fishers Island rely on L+M as the integral provider of their emergency health care services. Year-round and seasonal island residents utilize the L+M Emergency Department, as well as other medical services, through a partnership with the Island Health Project, the Fishers Island Fire Department, and the Sea Stretcher aquatic ambulance service. In 1995, Fishers Island residents led a similar philanthropic effort to enhance emergency facilities at the hospital.

“We are tremendously thankful for the philanthropy of the Peter O. Crisp Family, as well as to Tracy and Jimmy Rutherfurd and their committee, and to the residents of Fishers Island who have given so generously to our organization. This gift greatly enhances this project and our ability to enhance the care we provide to our patients,” said Patrick L. Green, president and CEO. “The support of the Fishers Island community further solidifies that L+M and Yale New Haven Health are the trusted health partner for this community.”

“For the people of Fishers Island, L+M’s Emergency Department is a vital part of their health care,” said Christine. M. Meola, vice president, Development. “This extraordinary gift will support L+M as it sustains and grows vital services that benefit island residents as well as all those across our service area.”

The 11,465-square-foot expansion of the Emergency Department will increase the number of patient treatment areas to 57 private rooms. The space will also add dedicated pediatric treatment rooms. It also involves expanding and improving the waiting room area and upgrading imaging equipment. The hospital will welcome the first patients into the new waiting area this week.

The project also includes a significant upgrade to the hospital’s electrical power capabilities. This will pave the way for future expansion capabilities at the hospital to provide additional state-of-the-art medical care as the hospital continues to grow its services providing the greatest of care close to home. While the $84 million project is slated to be completed in early 2025, certain services will become operational this year.

Following its affiliation with Yale New Haven Health in 2017, L+M identified expansion of the Emergency Department as a unique opportunity to address both immediate clinical, infrastructure, and long-term planning needs at the hospital.

The renovations will help accommodate the increasing number of patients using the Emergency Department. Last year, the hospital handled more than 50,000 emergency visits.

L+M’s Emergency Department is staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians, physician assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners trained to handle medical conditions from stroke and heart attacks to broken bones and sprains. Experts to provide specialized medical services, such as primary angioplasty and emergency surgical care, are available at a moment's notice.

Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, a member of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit, 308-bed general and acute care hospital providing patient care to medical, surgical, pediatric, psychiatric and obstetrical patients in southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island since 1912. Lawrence + Memorial offers cardiac acute, step-down and rehabilitation programs and is the only eastern Connecticut hospital that performs emergency and elective angioplasty. www.lmhospital.org