GREENFIELD — Community members and health care providers gathered Wednesday night to celebrate the launch of Baystate Health’s $70 million campaign, marking the largest fundraising goal in the hospital system’s history.

“Baystate Health has been providing high-quality, compassionate health care to this community since the 1880s,” Andrew Arenstein, Baystate Health’s chief physician executive and chief academic officer, said while speaking at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. “It is our sincere hope that our promise to advance care and enhance lives will continue for the century and beyond. This campaign helps us secure our mission well into the future.”

According to Arenstein, money raised through the campaign, “Healthier Tomorrows: The Campaign for Baystate Health,” will assist the organization in three areas: capital needs, programming and endowment development.

“We kicked off the public portion of this capital campaign because we need help from the communities we serve to build a better tomorrow for health care for all,” Arenstein said.

Scott Berg, vice president of philanthropy at Baystate Health and executive director of the Baystate Health Foundation, said the campaign has already raised more than $35 million from lead donors. Contributions include support from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, which directly support the Family Medicine Residency Program in Greenfield.

Dr. Robert Baldor, founding chair and professor for the University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate Department of Family Medicine, explained there is a nationwide shortage of primary care providers. He said Greenfield’s Family Medicine Residency Program, which launched last year, is proving instrumental toward getting providers to work in this area.

“The training program attracts young facilities and supports the local hospital,” Baldor said.

Baystate Health’s last fundraising campaign concluded in 2012. The $23 million raised supported building the shell of the “Hospital of the Future” wing in Springfield, including space for a new Emergency Department and the Davis Family Heart & Vascular Center. This $70 million campaign will help complete much of the space as intended to accommodate new technology and meet the community’s growing needs.

“Every contribution, no matter the size and no matter what the donor chooses to direct it toward, matters in this campaign,” Berg said, “as Baystate continues its essential role in the health of the people in our communities.”

]]>