With nearly thirty years of active board service, Warren McFarlan has guided Mount Auburn Hospital through a series of key decisions and milestones. As a respected Professor Emeritus of Harvard Business School, he has shared a wealth of strategic advice, managerial expertise, and counsel. Today, he is co-chair of Mount Auburn Hospital’s Here for You Campaign. Professor McFarlan, along with fellow co-chairs Michael Shortsleeve, MD, Professor Howard Stevenson, and William Wilson, is leading an ambitious five-year, $30 million fundraising initiative with the goal of creating an innovative and accessible new model of emergency care at the Mount.
“Our Emergency Department is a centerpiece of the hospital and has always been there for our community, providing lifesaving care every day,” says McFarlan, who, with his wife, Karen, made a remarkable gift of $1 million in support of the Here for You Campaign. “When we decided to embark on this campaign, we carefully assessed all emergency services from top to bottom and came up with a plan for a thoughtful redesign and comprehensive new model of care that will support our extraordinary staff and meet the evolving needs of the community.”
The advancements within the John and Mary Chicos Emergency Department (ED) will prioritize both speed and comfort. “To improve delivery and coordination, the redesigned Emergency Department will enable our staff to more efficiently care for patients with injuries and illnesses of all levels of severity,” says Christopher Fischer, MD, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mount Auburn. “By expanding our space, we will improve our ability to care for patients with life-threatening conditions in an enlarged and centrally located area. Patients with less serious injuries will be cared for in a dedicated area designed to ensure comfort and optimize workflow.”
Importantly, the campaign will allow Mount Auburn to reconfigure its physical layout for a number of specialized services—including radiology, surgery, and cardiac catheterization—to provide patients and ED staff with faster access to the resources needed in an emergency. This large-scale renovation project has entered its second phase and construction has commenced, with several newly renovated spaces already available for patients and staff. “The new layout is critical,” says McFarlan. “Our dedicated ED staff will be surrounded by all the necessary equipment and support staff needed to ensure the most expedient care. The new space will save time and will literally save steps, as staff will no longer be running back and forth to different areas of the hospital.”
Ensuring a positive patient experience lies at the heart of the Here for You Campaign. “This redesign will really extend Mount Auburn’s unique culture of caring,” says McFarlan. “In addition to the important upgrades to our physical facilities, adopting an innovative new model of care will provide patients with other key resources that further enhance our welcoming and supportive environment.” These include additional nurse navigators to facilitate care coordination, wellness and education programs, and a healing garden to offer comfort to patients and families. The newly redesigned ED is slated to open in mid-2024.
“Throughout my career, much of my work has focused on nonprofit organizations and the importance of philanthropy,” says McFarlan. “I feel strongly that emergency care is a critical component of this hospital and I wholeheartedly encourage others to give generously to this campaign, because Mount Auburn Hospital truly is here for you.”
Support the Here for You Campaign by making a gift today.
