MGH Institute Gala Raises More than $390,000 for Student Scholarships

MGH Institute of Health Professions raised more than $390,000 for student scholarships during its annual Gala on November 6.

More than 300 people attended the event, held at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, to support students in nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology who attend the Charlestown Navy Yard graduate school. The final amount raised included $82,000 pledged by audience members during a live auction.

Since the first Gala in 2007, more than $2 million has been raised for student scholarships.

“The scholarships we are able to award each year promote access to a professional education for a broad spectrum of our students who will go on to make exceptional contributions in their fields and touch the lives of many patients, and their families and communities,” said President Janis P. Bellack, PhD, RN, FAAN.

The evening’s theme, Transforming Lives: Education that Serves, highlighted the school’s two pro-bono clinical centers. Located on its Charlestown Navy Yard campus, the centers – the Speech, Language and Literacy Center, which includes the Aphasia Center, and the Physical Therapy Center for Clinical Education and Health Promotion – provide more than $1 million of free services each year to hundreds of children and adults. The centers also serve as clinical education sites for speech-language pathology and physical therapy graduate students.

John M. Connors III, Honorary Trustee and co-founder of the Boathouse Group, Inc., was honored for his 12 years of vision, leadership, and support during his term as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Four event sponsors each donated $25,000 to support student scholarships:

·         Massachusetts General Hospital

·         MinuteClinic

·         Putnam Investments

·         Dr. and Mrs. Charles A. Sanders

Eight sponsors each donated $10,000: Sumner W. Brown, John M. Connors Jr. and Eileen Connors, John and Larisa Connors, Trish and Mark S. Joyce, the Knowles Family, J. Brian and Nancy J. McCarthy, MGH Nurses' Alumnae Association, and George and Barbara Thibault.

Two members of the MGH Institute Board of Trustees served as co-chairs for the event: Elizabeth “Trish” Joyce, and Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN, Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

Other members of the Gala Committee were: Pamela D'Arrigo; Kristene Diggins, DNP, MSN,  MinuteClinic; Anton Dodek, MD, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Margery Eramo, SON '57, MGH Nurses' Alumnae Association; Charles Landry, McCall & Almy; John Moore, Navy Yard Bistro; and Anthony Spirito.