Cape Cod Healthcare has received its largest-ever donation, $20 million, which the company will use to give extra attention to care for seniors and to improving the overall patient experience.
That includes things like making sure equipment and technology allow older people to see and hear things easily in healthcare settings, CEO Michael Lauf said.
“Little things, like … sound, and how the acoustics work, the size of paintings and clocks, and where you have … devices, and technology, and assistance to help them,” he said.
Focusing on elder care also means examining the management of medications for older adults, ensuring people have safe mobility, and more.
“We're going to be working to manage high-risk medications and how some are better suited than others for older adults,” he said. “We want to make sure that we're also screening for delirium, and what role that has in making sure that our patients are safe, and how we can ensure that all of our fall protocols are in place.”
The donation comes from Cynthia and John Fish of Osterville.
John Fish is CEO of Suffolk, a national contractor and real estate company.
“The Fishes have a very generous spirit,” Lauf said. He called the gift transformational.
Lauf said the Fishes want to ensure that Cape Cod Healthcare can continue to take care of the patients it serves, with a special interest in senior citizens and making sure the health system is “very age-friendly.”
In their honor, the campus of Cape Cod Hospital will be named the Cynthia G. and John F. Fish Campus at Cape Cod Hospital.
Cape Cod Healthcare also owns Falmouth Hospital, six urgent care centers, a network of primary and specialty care offices, and other healthcare facilities.
