KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Cheshire Medical Center’s leaders say the largest fundraising campaign in the hospital’s 133-year history is well underway — and already nearing its ambitious goal.

During an interview Friday morning on Good Morning with Dan Mitchell on WKBK Radio, Dr. Joseph L. Perras, President and CEO of Cheshire Medical Center, and Sandie Phipps, Vice President of Philanthropy and Community Relations for the Cheshire Health Foundation, announced that the hospital’s “Our Community, Our Future” capital campaign has raised $39.2 million toward a $42 million goal.

The campaign — which entered its public phase Thursday night after nearly a year in quiet fundraising — will help fund two major expansion and modernization projects at the Keene hospital: the addition of a second radiation oncology suite and the renovation and expansion of the hospital’s 52-year-old surgical facilities.

Transformational Gift Leads the Way

Phipps revealed that the campaign was propelled by an anonymous $25 million “transformational gift” — the largest in the hospital’s history and one she compared to the original donation that established Keene’s first community hospital in 1892.

“This gift is like a beacon of light for our community,” Phipps said. “It represents the same spirit of generosity that built Cheshire’s legacy of care for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.”

The Cheshire Health Foundation and its 30-member volunteer steering committee have worked for the past 11 months to prepare for this next phase of community involvement.

Meeting the Region’s Growing Needs

Dr. Perras, who has led Cheshire Medical since 2023, said the campaign grew out of one simple question: “What does our community need?”

He noted that Cheshire County has one of the oldest populations in the nation — and with age comes a greater demand for cancer care, surgical services, and advanced diagnostic treatment.

“Our current linear accelerator, which provides radiation therapy, is one of the most heavily used in the state,” Perras said. “Adding another will reduce travel burdens and treatment delays for local cancer patients who otherwise might have to drive more than an hour each way.”

The second major project focuses on modernizing and expanding the hospital’s five operating rooms, which Perras said are “the same size and configuration they were 52 years ago.”

Plans call for adding a sixth operating room, enlarging each suite to accommodate new surgical technology, and expanding endoscopy and gastroenterology services to meet increasing community demand.

Building for the Future

The projects are expected to cost more than $60 million in total, with the capital campaign funding a significant portion. Perras said that once the new radiation therapy addition is completed, construction will begin immediately on the surgical expansion.

Beyond the main campus on Court Street, the hospital also plans to make greater use of its Maple Avenue “west campus” property, which Perras described as “the tip of the spear for our future.” Moving some clinical and administrative services there will free up space within the hospital for expanded patient care.

Cheshire Medical’s growth also includes the Family Medicine Residency Program, launched in 2024 in partnership with Dartmouth Health. Now in its second year, the program has 12 resident physicians, with plans to grow to 18 by next year.

“It’s part of our strategy to ‘grow our own’ doctors,” Perras said. “Recruiting to a rural area can be difficult, but if they train here, they’re more likely to stay.”

Rural Challenges, Local Commitment

Despite being part of Dartmouth Health, Perras emphasized that Cheshire Medical Center is still classified as a rural hospital, serving an area where nearly 70% of patients rely on Medicare or Medicaid.

“Our mission is to maintain a sustainable model of rural healthcare,” he said. “If Cheshire struggles, the whole region feels it.”

Phipps said the campaign’s final phase will rely heavily on grassroots support to raise the remaining $2.8 million, inviting gifts “of all sizes” from the community.

Donations can be made online at www.cheshiremed.org
through the Cheshire Health Foundation.

Listen to the full interview: