AAMC Magazine

Spring 2007

Gift of Life Inspires a Gift of Healing

“ We hope our gift to AAMC helps prolong life another day or two, another month or year, for other people.”
?Ken and Thelma Hurst

If you told the two youngsters who grew up in East Baltimore in the 1930s and 1940s that they would marry and be major donors to AAMC years later, they would have laughed out loud, albeit politely. Their humble beginnings, guided by parents who gave them “good training so far as saving and not living high” and who “engrained in us to give to the homeless,” prepared them to do just that.

Ken and Thelma Hurst first became acquainted with AAMC when the medical center was located in downtown Annapolis. Over the last few years, the Hursts have benefited from treatment offered at AAMC's DeCesaris Center in the Radiation Oncology Department and in the Infusion Center.

“Having become very familiar with these departments, we found just how extraordinarily well they were managed. The staff is knowledgeable, upbeat, and professional, and they work very well together—all of which benefits the patients,” explain the Hursts.

The grateful husband and wife knew immediately how to show their gratitude. “When we were in the Infusion Center, we made up our minds to give something in return for the excellent care I was given,” said Mr. Hurst. Working with their financial advisor, the Hursts learned about a new tax provision that encourages charitable gifting through an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). See box below for details.

The Hursts’ vision for their charity is straightforward: “We hope our gift to AAMC helps prolong life another day or two, another month or year, for other people. We know AAMC will use the money wisely; our dollars mean the hospital can keep up to date, educating the staff and buying the latest equipment. AAMC is a hometown hospital that grew up to be both big and good, and we hope our gift helps it stay that way.”

UNDER THE NEW TAX LAW, IRA FUNDS CAN BE USED TO MAKE A CHARITABLE GIFT FREE FROM TAX IMPLICATIONS.

Gift criteria include:

Donor must be 70.5 or older
Gift does not total more than $100,000
Gift must be made before December 31, 2007
Transfer of funds made directly from an IRA or Rollover IRA
A public charity, like AAMC, must be the recipient

For details, click here or call AAMC Foundation, 443-481-4747.

AAMC Cancer Program Earns ‘Commendation-Level’ Accreditation

Anne Arundel Medical Center’s cancer program has earned a three-year accreditation, with commendation, from the American College of Surgeons (ACoS). A commendation-level approval demonstrates a superior degree of compliance with the standards set for accreditation by ACoS.

Stanley Watkins, M.D., medical director of AAMC’s DeCesaris Cancer Institute, said the high-level accreditation shows AAMC continues to offer patients the best possible cancer care. “In the process of considering choices for cancer care,” he said, “the commendation-level approval signals a program with care at the highest levels.”

AAMC’s DeCesaris Cancer Institute is ranked outstanding in outpatient satisfaction, and it is the first See and Treat Cancer Care Center of Excellence in the country. Patients have access to clinical trials and the latest technology, including the da Vinci S Robotic Surgical System, the GE Discovery ST imaging system, Novalis Shaped Beam Surgery, and the Varian image-guided radiation therapy system. The cancer program offers five weekly, prospective tumor conferences for breast, prostate/male genitourinary, neuro-oncology, thoracic, and general cancers.

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