Rochester General Health System
Rochester General Hospital Receives $4 Million Gift From Sands Family & Constellation Brands
First Gift in Bold New Future Campaign is Largest Gift from Sands Family to Hospital
Rob Sands, on behalf of the Sands family and Constellation Brands, has made a gift of $4 million to Rochester General Hospital (RGH), the largest gift ever received by the hospital from Sands and Constellation Brands.
Sands is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Constellation Brands and the immediate past chairman of the board of Rochester General Health System.
“RGH plays a vital role in serving the healthcare needs of the Rochester community on a day-to-day basis. It is a superb high tech hospital, a leader in minimally invasive robotic surgery, a pioneer in cardiac care, and leads the way in many other specialty areas, said Sands. “On behalf of my family and Constellation Brands, I am pleased that this gift will continue to enhance the efforts at RGH,” said Sands.
“We are grateful to Rob Sands, his family and Constellation Brands for this magnificent gift, and for Rob’s tremendous dedication, loyalty and service to RGH over the years,” said Mark Clement, president and CEO of Rochester General Health System. “Rob has been an integral contributor to our health system’s planning for more than a decade - leading the way in our journey to widen access to care, modernize our campus and set the standard for quality.“
This gift follows a recent major donation the family made to build the new Sands Family Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, which opened in October 2009. The 12-bed unit features private and larger rooms, proximity to the cardiac catheterization labs and connection to three dedicated cardiothoracic operating rooms. It is also easily accessible from the new B. Thomas Golisano Emergency Center and Pavilion via a dedicated elevator. This new unit is a major benefit to the thousands of patients annually who rely on receiving the highest quality and fastest possible cardiac treatment in an emergency situation.
The Sands family gift represents the beginning of the silent phase of Rochester General’s Bold New Future campaign that will raise funds for a new Patient Pavilion, patient research, facility enhancements, and technology advancements. The campaign will launch in the next 12 - 18 months.
The new Patient Pavilion will be built and connected to the south side of the hospital. This addition will relieve the strain on the inpatient bed system, create improved patient access and centralize ambulatory care services. The result will be improved care, service and patient outcomes all while providing the highest level of dignity and privacy to patients and their loved ones. The Pavilion will also increase the number of private inpatient rooms, thus improving quality of care, infection control, efficiency, privacy, acceleration of the admission process, a need for fewer transfers, and higher patient and family satisfaction. It will also centralize ambulatory care services, creating operational efficiencies that will allow the medical staff to provide seamless care of the highest quality, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for patients.
Sands joined the RGH Board in 1999 as secretary and assistant treasurer and Finance vice chair. With the establishment of ViaHealth, he served on the new system board and Finance and Investment Committee, became vice chair in 2001, was named to the Executive and Nominating Committees in 2002, and was eventually appointed chairman in 2002, a position he held until 2008. Sands led the search effort to recruit Clement and shares Clement’s vision to transform the system to be the region’s healthcare provider of choice.
Toward this effort, Sands chaired the hospital’s most recent capital campaign, which exceeded goals and raised funds for major facility enhancements including the new Polisseni Pavilion and main entrance, and the B. Thomas Golisano Pavilion and Emergency Center.
“The Sands Family has been a long time and consistent supporter of RGH, and their gifts have been truly transformational,” said James P. Digan, senior vice president for Development for Rochester General Health System. “Gifts like this are rare and highly celebrated. I can’t express enough how much Rob, his family and Constellation Brands are setting the tone for the hospital and campaign. Rob’s leadership in making this gift puts us on the right course as we prepare to launch this new campaign.”
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