J. Doswell Dutton

Make A Difference Fund provides $200,000 to build needed facility.

Thanks to one man's generosity and an outpouring of financial support from the community, construction is underway at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital (RWRH) for a new Family Care Center named in honor of its primary benefactor, J. Doswell Dutton.

When the J. Doswell Dutton Family Care Center is  completed later this year, it will provide a place of comfort, convenience and solace for family and friends of patients in the hospital's new $5 million Intensive care Unit. What is truly remarkable is the entire $200,00 cost of the Family Care Center is funded through donations to the RWRH Make a Difference Fund.

A Gloucester businessman and supporter in building the hospital during the mid-1970's,Mr.Dutton left a generous bequest that was used to establish the RWRH Make a Difference Fund. Since its formation in 2009,the community has embraced and supported the Fund's primary mission "to improve the treatment and welfare of current and future patients." Donations are often used to help small yet meaningful ways such as providing transportation for patients who cannot afford it, but raising the money needed for the Family Care Center was an unprecedented challenge for the Fund's Advisory Committee according to Chair Rebecca McCoy of Mathews.

With a $100,000 from the Dutton bequest in hand, the committee launched a capitol campaign in December 2011 to raise an additional $100,000. The community responded rapidly and generously. by the end of December, the campaign had reached its goal as 136 local businesses and individuals opened their hearts and their pocketbooks. Ground was broken for the Family Care Center along with the Intensive Care Unit on March 6, 2011.

The 900 square foot facility will provide a comfortable, home-like atmosphere with amenities that include a kitchenette, private consultation room, fireplace, Wifi, full bathroom with a shower and a neighboring chapel.

"The J. Doswell Dutton Family Care Center will make what is a dream of most hospitals a reality at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital. This is possible solely because of the generosity of the community," said Megan Kleckner, Hospital Administrator.

Related:

• Make a Difference Fund