April 24, 2001

FOR RELEASE: Immediately

Hospital Receives $500,000 Cancer Challenge

Kent & Queen Anne's Hospital has accepted a challenge to raise $500,000 by July 2001 to establish an Endowment Fund for Cancer Programs. If the Hospital can raise these funds an anonymous community member will match them.

Maryann Ruehrmund, director of development points out, "This challenge is an opportunity to focus on the long-term, future needs of cancer patients and provide the community with an opportunity to invest in the future of the oncology services the hospital provides. We hope to raise at least two million dollars for the cancer endowment fund."

Donations made to an endowment are permanently restricted; only the income and a portion of the investment's growth can be used each year. The annual income derived from investing these funds will be used to fund early detection and prevention programs.

"For example, Johns Hopkins Medicine is studying the types of cancer found in different location within Kent and Queen Anne's counties. We expect these results to allow us to better focus prevention and early detection efforts," says Ruehrmund. "Funds from this endowment will also help expand the hospital's successful cancer counseling center's programs such as the Patient-To-Patient support group and the Prepared Family Caregiver course."

Each year 26,159 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in Maryland; Maryland is ranked seventh in cancer mortality (174.9 per 100,000 people) among all the states and the District of Columbia, according to the 1997 Maryland Cancer Registry statistics.

"We hope this challenge sparks the interest of many new donors in our ongoing fund raising efforts," Ruehrmund continues. "Five hundred thousand dollars is a tremendous amount of money; the benefits from it will touch many people's lives. We need to meet this challenge and we will need help from people in the community to do it.

To help reach this goal proceeds from the Kent & Queen Anne's Hospital Foundation's seventh annual Golf Tournament and Spring Reception will be directed toward the challenge. This year's event will be held at the Chester River Yacht & Country Club on Friday, June 1.

For more information on how to help the hospital meet this challenge, please contact Maryann Ruehrmund at (410) 778-3300, ext. 4070.

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