$5M To Doylestown Health From Philanthropists, Including Former Nurse

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The honorary chairs of ONE VISION: The Campaign for Doylestown Health have made a $5 million commitment to support two ventures for the hospital group. Alex and Pat Gorsky hope their gift will have far-reaching effects in the community.

Of the donation, $4 million will support the Gorsky Heart and Vascular Suite — established as part of the Woodall Center for Heart and Vascular Care in December 2017 — and $1 million will support Children’s Village, the early childhood education center being rebuilt on the Doylestown Hospital campus this year.

“Doylestown Health is deeply honored by the philanthropic partnership we have with Alex and Pat Gorsky,” said Jim Brexler, President and CEO of Doylestown Health. “They have stood alongside us since the beginning of this campaign, and their leadership, generosity, and counsel have been invaluable as we continue to expand programs and facilities to better serve the evolving needs of our community.”

The One Vision Campaign is a comprehensive capital campaign investing donor contributions in programs, technology, facilities, and medical expertise throughout Doylestown Health. With now nearly $92 million in contributions toward its $100 million goal, the campaign is expected to conclude in 2023, coinciding with the centennial celebration of the first Doylestown Hospital.

“As we near the completion of our campaign, we are especially grateful to the Gorskys for this new visionary gift, and the renewed demonstration of their commitment to advancing the future of healthcare excellence in our community,” Brexler said.

Alex Gorsky, Executive Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, and Pat Gorsky, a trustee of Doylestown Health Foundation and formerly a nurse at Doylestown Hospital, joined the One Vision Campaign in 2017 with their initial $5 million donation — then the largest single gift in the health system’s history. Their visionary support was designated to cardiovascular care, allowing Doylestown Health to invest heavily in one of its leading services early in the campaign.

With demand for advanced heart care growing in the region, the gift was a timely one.

“We are very proud to be able to increase our support of Doylestown Health and the community,” said Alex Gorsky. “Since the launch of the One Vision Campaign, Doylestown Health has accomplished extraordinary things, and Pat and I want to do whatever we can to help Doylestown Health reach even more patients and members of our community. As the hospital approaches nearly 100 years of delivering exceptional care, it seemed fitting to designate our gift both to cardiovascular care — the program where it all started and which remains incredibly meaningful to us — and to the new beginnings represented by Children’s Village.”

The Gorsky Heart and Vascular Suite at Doylestown Hospital includes a state-of-the-art hybrid operating suite that opened in 2017, and encompasses the oldest cardiac catheterization laboratory, or cath lab, still online at the hospital.

Current plans—accelerated by the Gorskys’ latest gift commitment—include building a new hybrid procedural suite before renovating the cath lab and equipping it with the latest technology and equipment. The addition of a procedural suite and the renovated cath lab will help meet rising demand for cardiac services in the region.

Doylestown Health in particular has seen a significant increase in demand for structural heart interventions, and recently completed its 600th transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), after piloting the program in 2013.

“Heart disease is a growing epidemic, and remains the leading cause of death among both men and women in this country,” continued Alex Gorsky. “We are proud to help expand access to state-of the-art cardiovascular care in our community by investing in Doylestown Health, which can in turn invest in more sophisticated technologies and treatment options that will ultimately lead to even better outcomes for patients and their families.”

Part of their gift will also support Children’s Village, an accredited early childhood education center which originally opened on the Doylestown Hospital campus in 1985 as a daycare for employees’ children. Since then, it has expanded to become an integral part of Doylestown Health’s services, welcoming children from across the community starting at age six weeks through kindergarten.

“Our son, Nicholas, was enrolled at Children’s Village as a student many years ago,” said Pat Gorsky. “We want to see it thrive as a new home for infants and young children of community members and Doylestown Health employees alike. It speaks volumes for Doylestown Health that during the height of the pandemic, Children’s Village extended its hours to accommodate the needs of first responders, nurses, physicians, and others whose professional demands increased as they led the fight against COVID-19 on the frontlines of care.”

The original school was destroyed by a tornado in 2020. It has since been operating out of a leased location on Ferry Road in Doylestown and temporary classrooms on the hospital campus.

Construction on the new Children’s Village will commence this year, with plans to reopen in 2023. The center will be rebuilt on the original site, featuring new amenities and enhancements to accommodate the growing program and the latest advances in design for children’s educational facilities.

Additional campaign priorities are slated for completion this year as plans unfold to reinvest in services like interventional radiology, a new physician residency, further renovations to Doylestown Hospital, and the Legacy Endowment Fund.

More information about the ONE VISION campaign can be found online.

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