life can change in a moment. a moment can … moment. a moment can change a life. ... contributions...

LIFE CAN CHANGE IN A MOMENT.

A MOMENT CAN CHANGE A LIFE.

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For many of us, the charitable impulse starts in such a moment. Inspired by events close to us, we are moved to make a di� erence for those around us. So ultimately, the moment that changed our lives can inspire thousands of life-changing moments for others.

At the AtlantiCare Foundation, we understand every contribution we receive is like a drop in the pond, rippling out to improve lives throughout our region. And we recognize how important it is that our benefactors see the direct impact of every dollar they contribute right here in the community where they live and work. They see it in the life-saving procedures we perform in southeastern New Jersey’s only cardiac surgery program, and in the ripe tomatoes on the vines of the community gardens we tend from Absecon to Ventnor. They see it in our e� orts to combat childhood obesity in schools and in the quality of care our cancer center provides.

IT HAPPENS IN A MOMENT. AN ACCIDENT.

AN ILLNESS. A TEST RESULT.

AND ONCE IT HAPPENS, OUR LIVES WILL NEVER

BE THE SAME.

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YOU’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHERE WE’RE COMING FROM.

From its founding as Atlantic City Hospital in 1898, to its present status as a member of the Geisinger Health System, a nationally recognized healthcare network, serving thousands of families from 80-plus locations, two facts have remained constant about AtlantiCare: we are here when our community needs us and our benefactors are there when we need them.

In the pages to follow, you will read firsthand how the AtlantiCare Foundation has both benefitted from, and contributed to, the richness of our community. Sustaining and building on that symbiotic connection between the institution and the people it serves is the core of our philanthropic mission.

These are some of the stories of people who, inspired by a moment that hit close to home, have made contributions that will be felt far and wide.


It was a time of mourning. In a period of just a few short months, four cherished nurses in a single unit at AtlantiCare lost their lives. Friends and colleagues in their 40s and 50s and one who was just 29.

Shaken and in mourning, Chet Dovidio, Diana Gillespie and a group of fellow nurses pulled together, determined to mine this series of tragic events for something redemptive. A memorial, they decided, was necessary. But not just something static that would fade along with the memories it stood for. They wanted to make a statement that would resonate through the lives of their colleagues for generations to come.

FROM A MOMENT OF LOSS…

WE DIDN’T WANT THEM TO BE FORGOTTEN.

THE LAUGHTER, THE JOY,

THE PLEASURE OF BEING TOGETHER

WHILE CARING FOR PATIENTS.

CHET DOVIDIO, RN/FUND CO-FOUNDER


The AtlantiCare Nurses Memorial Education Fund was born of that commitment to remember. It started with bake sales and handmade holiday ornaments made by nurses on their own time. It was three years before they had raised enough to endow the fund for its purpose of “paying it forward,” helping today’s AtlantiCare nurses to cover the cost of continuing their education, renewing their licenses and obtaining new certifications, in the name of their predecessors.

By contributing to this fund, our benefactors are ensuring the great nurses of our past will not be forgotten, and the nurses of our future will have the help they need to advance their careers and the quality of the care they provide.

A LEGACY OF HOPE.


Scott Monk was more than just a brilliant trauma surgeon. To those who knew and loved him, and there were thousands he touched in his too-brief life, Scott was a friend, a mentor, a fishing buddy and a lightning rod for acts of kindness. From his arrival here in 2004, it was clear Scott had found a home at AtlantiCare, advancing quickly to become Medical Director, making friends, saving lives and enjoying every moment of life by the ocean.

When Scott’s life and career were tragically cut short, he left a community in grief, and a family in shock. But his wife Nancy,who first met Scott in an EMT class, knew her husband’s drive to advance medical care would not end with his passing.

FROM PROMISE CUT SHORT…

SCOTT WAS ABOUT HELPING OTHERS.

HE’D LOVE THE IDEA THAT HE’S STILL DOING IT.

NANCY MONK


After consulting her two sons, both of whom now work in patient care at AtlantiCare, Nancy established the Scott Monk Scholarship fund to enable people to pursue and advance their careers in medicine. Awarded each year to an outstanding student, the fund honors Scott’s memory in the way he himself would most appreciate—by helping those who will, in turn, go on to help others .

TO PROMISE FULFILLED.S. TAMARA BELLE FNP-BC, M.S.N., RN

The first recipient of the scholarshipin Scott Monk’s memory is now a successfulNurse Practitioner in family practice.


Restauranteur Cookie Till is justly famous for the freshness and creativity of her kitchen at Margate landmark Steve & Cookie’s By the Bay. And the same passion that drives her to insist on bringing in the best ingredients in season to serve her guests also inspires her commitment to childhood nutrition.

Recognizing how many children in our region grow up without access to or knowledge of healthy foods, Cookie was determined to help local families grow the fruits and vegetables that are the basis of a nutritious diet.

FROM A SEED OF CONCERN…

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THE EXPRESSION ON THE FACE OF A

KID WHO IS TASTING A FRESH

TOMATO FOR THE FIRST TIME.

COOKIE TILL


The fruits (and vegetables) of Cookie’s labors, funded and implemented through the AtlantiCare Foundation, is Growing Green—an ambitious program of community gardens designed to teach community residents of all ages both the skills necessary to grow and cultivate fresh produce and the pleasures of consuming their harvest.

To date, close to 60 productive vegetable gardens have been established in schools and in urban areas where green space is a rare and precious commodity. By helping to fund these e� orts, AtlantiCare Foundation contributors are helping not just to grow produce, but to grow healthier children in our community.

A HARVEST OF HEALTHFULNESS.


When art collector and philanthropist Gary Hill learned that his life partner, Councilman John Schultz, had been hospitalized after collapsing at a public function, he was at his bedside in minutes.

In the hours that followed, after emergency surgery was performed and it became clear that Councilman Schultz had been saved, Hill’s fear turned to gratitude for the skill, responsiveness and technical excellence that had restored his partner’s health and their hopes for a long and happy future.

FROM THE ART OF HEALING…

WE ALWAYS NEED HOPE AND BEAUTY IN OUR LIVES

BUT NEVER MORE THAN

WHEN WE’RE IN A TIME OF CRISIS.

GARY HILL


Today, the philanthropic contributions of John Schultz and Gary Hill have enriched the lives of many who enter AtlantiCare facilities, thanks to New Jersey’s most ambitious public art initiative—the Healing Arts Program, which they have generously supported. By bringing original art—paintings and sculpture primarily by New Jersey artists—to the corridors and courtyards of AtlantiCare campuses, the Healing Arts Program not only beautifies the surroundings for patients and families, but instills hope and inspires optimism throughout our community.

TO THE HEALING OF ART.


It was in the 37th week of her pregnancy when Anne Pratt was rushed into critical care at AtlantiCare with a condition that threatened both her life and that of her first child. As an expectant mother unexpectedly thrown into crisis, Anne didn’t recognize at the time being wheeled into the region’s first and only Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery was a stroke of good fortune. But over the course of a long, dark night, after her strength had been tested and finally rewarded with the gift of a tiny premature little girl, she became a believer and, ultimately, a benefactor.

FROM A MOMENT ON LIFE SUPPORT…

THE NURSE WHISPERED,

“LOOK AT HER. SHE’S THE

STRONGEST ONE IN THIS ROOM.

ANNE PRATT


Today, Anne carries a lifelong reminder of the commitment she made to the AtlantiCare Foundation. Her name is Mary.

Anne and her husband Brian, an AtlantiCare physician, contribute to a fund through the AtlantiCare Foundation in honor of her daughter, Mary. Their goal is to help ensure that future generations throughout the community will benefit from the same skills and resources that saved Mary.

The family earmarked part of their contribution to provide blankets for the nursery, and each year they honor the sta� on Mary’s birthday with a visit and a tray of home-baked cookies.

Contributions like the one Anne and her husband make in Mary’s name help to fund programs such as the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery or other specialty centers, as well as the exploration and development of new initiatives and technologies based on what our community needs.

A LIFETIME OF GRATITUDE.


FROM ONE MOMENT TO THE NEXT.Life is remembered in moments. Some are joyful, others tragic. All are meaningful. What we learn from those moments, how we apply those lessons toward the future, is the di� erence we make in the world. Those who choose to support the work of the AtlantiCare Foundation choose to make a moment matter. Inspired by a personal experience of their own or someone close to them, they are making a community commitment. From their own past, they are forging a hopeful future for others.

IF ATLANTICARE HAS HELPED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE, OR THAT OF SOMEONE YOU LOVE, WE HOPE YOU WILL FEEL INSPIRED TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO BE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

Target your contribution to the AtlantiCare Foundation program of your choosing or make an unrestricted donation today.


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