With a recent pledge of $1 million from the Charles Evans Foundation, fundraising efforts for the new hospital in Plainsboro have now reached $82 million.
The new state-of-the-art hospital will replace the downtown Princeton facility that has been home to University Medical Center at Princeton since 1919.
Princeton HealthCare System has set its fundraising goal at $115 million. In recognition of the contribution, the new medical center will name a rehabilitation facility for patients with cardiac and pulmonary conditions for Evans. The Charles Evans Pulmonary Rehabilitation Gym will be located in the new hospital’s George and Estelle Sands Center for Cardiac and Pulmonary Care. A room for surgical procedures within the hospital’s Center for Surgical Care will also be named the Charles Evans Procedures Room.
Evans, who died in 2007, was co-founder of the fashion house Evan-Picone and a successful film producer whose credits included the acclaimed movie “Tootsie” starring Dustin Hoffman. He was also a prominent philanthropist devoted to causes including Alzheimer’s research and fire safety awareness. The foundation he launched in 1988 continues that philanthropic legacy through support for a wide range of causes and charities, according to a press release from the hospital.
The new $442 million hospital will be located on Route 1 between Scudders Mill Road and Plainsboro Road. The new medical center will occupy 50 acres of land and serve as the hub of a 160-acre health campus that will also include a medical office building, a fitness and wellness center, a health education center, a skilled nursing facility, pediatric services and a 32-acre public park. It is scheduled to open in late 2011.
