ChristianaCare receives a major gift to help support its Wilmington Campus.
The $1 million gift comes from the Rocco A. and Mary Abessinio Foundation.
The money will help with expansion of patient care initiatives aimed at reducing disparities in screening and treatment for cancer and cardiovascular disease in Wilmington.
Dr. LeRoi Hicks is the executive director of ChristianaCare’s Wilmington Hospital. He says a gift of this size has a great return of investment.
"Not only are we extending their lives certainly, but we're reducing the burden on the health care system. We're reducing the number of days that they're out of work. We're reducing the amount of time that's spent away from their family in the hospital. We're improving their quality of life, and it allows us to really generate opportunities for those that are connected to them socially or through family members to also similarly seek care earlier," said Hicks.
This isn’t the first gift to ChristianaCare by Abessinio Foundation.
In 2014, a $1 million gift helped redesign and renovate the health center which was named the Rocco A. Abessinio Family Health Center at Wilmington Hospital.
That’s home to three primary care practices and other programs and services offering health care, wellness and preventive health visits for people of all ages regardless of income or ability to pay.
"This kind of funding goes above and beyond what health systems can traditionally do to make the significant investments necessary in addressing these gaps,” said Hicks. “It's a huge benefit to us, and it really will benefit the entire city in terms of healthcare access for those that have a very, very high disease burden."
