The Calhoun-Gordon Community Foundation “The Fund” recently presented the Gordon Hospital Foundation with a $100,000 donation to benefit the hospital’s new Radiation Therapy Center Capital Campaign. The donation puts the capital campaign over the $500,000 mark and is the largest donation that “The Fund” has ever made.

Fund representative Jimmy Mathews noted that the donation will be added to other contributions made by the local community. In total, the Gordon Hospital Foundation is trying to raise $1.7 million in donations to complete the building. David Lance, lifetime resident of Calhoun and leader of the Fund’s advisory team noted the importance of the new Radiation Therapy Center and its impact on the quality of life for people in Calhoun and Gordon County, as well as throughout the region.

“Anyone who has ever faced a catastrophic health condition knows that being able to receive treatment and care close to home can make all the difference. When people generously supported the Calhoun-Gordon Endowment capital campaign, these were the kind of projects they wanted to see us fund. It is with a great deal of satisfaction that we make this donation and look forward to assisting with other important community projects in the future.”

“We can’t thank the Calhoun-Gordon Community Foundation enough,” says Helen Jones, chair of the Gordon Hospital Foundation board of directors. “This is a tremendous gift and a huge step forward in our campaign. Their generosity will benefit our community for years to come.” Gordon Hospital President and CEO Pete Weber agrees. “We are truly thankful for the Calhoun-Gordon Community Foundation’s donation. Their donation is helping turn this building into a reality, and it means that patients needing this important life saving treatment, will not have to travel outside of our own community.”

When completed, the new Radiation Therapy Center will house a new linear accelerator, which can bombard extremely precise tumor areas with radiation while sparing healthy tissue from exposure. In addition to radiation therapy, the new facility will:

• Be designed to create the most effective, least stressful treatment environment possible;

• Reflect the family and patient friendly environment so evident throughout the main hospital;

• Include the Cancer Resource Center to increase its ease of access and visibility;

• Be designed to easily accommodate future expansion as new technology or additional treatment alternatives become needed.

Construction on the new Radiation Therapy Center is well underway and should be completed before the end of 2012.

The Calhoun-Gordon Community Foundation is a charitable fund of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia. Monies originating from the Fund for Calhoun-Gordon are made possible by distributions from the Calhoun-Gordon Permanent Endowment Fund.