Five years ago when Russell J. Salvatore slipped on some ice and broke his ankle the expert medical staff at ECMC took great care of him in the operating room before sending Western New York’s premier restauranteur and philanthropist to a room to recuperate and begin therapy.
This morning on Valentine’s Day, Mr. Salvatore stood behind a podium in the ECMC lobby and told a large gathering of family, friends and hospital staff and guests, the cast they put on him was “the most expensive cast ever” before he unveiled his largest philanthropic gift —$1 million to ECMC’s capital campaign.
When he was in a hospital room after breaking his ankle Salvatore could not believe the patients had to watch television on an old box TV and pay a daily service fee. From the bed he began discussing this with Sue Gonzales, Vice President of the ECMC Foundation, and very soon after he was discharged it was announced the Russell J. Salvatore Foundation was donating $250,000 to upgrade televisions and the service in patient rooms. Two years ago, he donated $500,000 for the Russell J. Salvatore Orthopaedic Unit on the sixth floor.
ECMC holds a special place in my heart.
“ECMC holds a special place in my heart,” Mr. Salvatore says. “Everyday it demonstrates why it is truly our community’s regional hospital. The quality care that each doctor, nurse, clinician and every employee provides for patients like me is really what sets ECMC apart.
“I have seen first hand just how skilled and dedicated the ECMC caregivers are and I know that level of care is provided to every patient that comes to ECMC. It is important for me to express my thanks and gratitude to the entire ECMC staff and I am very happy to make this contribution and support their vitally important capital campaign,” he adds.
After the press conference Russ, Thomas J. Quatroche, Jr., Ph.D., ECMC President and CEO and others went to his orthopaedic floor to present Valentine’s Day flowers to the patients.
“Russell Salvatore has been and continues to be a generous and incredibly supportive friend of ECMC.,” Quatroche says. “As he has shown before, he has been a stalwart benefactor of the hospital, but more importantly, he has always expressed his admiration and love of the thousands of ECMC caregivers who make our hospital so special and unique. He leads by example and reminds all of us just how special he is for our entire community. We are deeply appreciative of his support of ECMC and for this critically important capital campaign.”
With Mr. Salvatore’s contribution, ECMC has raised $2.5 million for its capital campaign, which is just beginning the process that will lead to the building of a new state-of-the-art Trauma Center/Emergency Department, as well as other improvements including the main entrance/lobby into the hospital.