FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:            

MARGE SULLIVAN, PALM HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION, 561-833-6333

MELANIE OTERO, THE WATERS PELTON ORGANIZATION, 561-626-0026, x11

JENNIFER MARTINEZ, THE WATERS PELTON ORGANIZATION, 561-626-0026, x19

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—A team of Palm Beach’s most well known community leaders and philanthropists have joined together to lead the capital campaign for the Palm Healthcare Pavilion, home of the Mollie Wilmot Children’s Center.  General Chair David Mack and his campaign leadership team, Joan K. Eigen, Thomas C. Quick, and Lesly Smith, will drive the $12.5 million project designed to improve the health and quality of life for children with special healthcare needs through a strong collaborative effort with the leading academic medical institutions and healthcare organizations in South Florida.  Mosse Hvide will serve as honorary chair of the campaign, which has already reached 50% of its campaign goal.

The uniqueness of the Palm Healthcare Foundation project convinced Mr. Mack to take on the role as general chair of the campaign.   “What drew me to the Campaign for the Pavilion was the innovative, collaborative approach Palm Healthcare is taking to bring together South Florida healthcare leaders under one roof to serve children with special healthcare needs,” said Mack.  “Parents of these children will be able to go to the Pavilion and have their children evaluated and treated by a team of healthcare professionals working together rather than having to seek out care from doctors spread across South Florida.”

Mr. Mack is a leader in community involvement in Palm Beach and New York.  He serves on local Palm Beach County boards, including Palm Beach Community Chest, United Way and Morse Geriatric.  In New York, he serves on the boards of several organizations, including UJA of Greater New York and Long Island, New York Holocaust Memorial Committee, North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System Foundation, and Hofstra University, his alma mater.  Mr. Mack is a senior partner in The Mack Company, a real estate development firm headquartered in Ft. Lee, New Jersey, with offices in New York and Arizona, and a director of Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, also in New Jersey.  The Mack Company currently owns or controls properties in excess of 10 million square feet in New Jersey, New York, Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania. 

Campaign leadership team member Joan K. Eigen is a member of Palm Healthcare Foundation’s board of trustees.  She also serves on the boards of several charitable organizations, including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Board of Overseers, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Cancer Center Board, and the Raymond F. Kunkle Foundation.  She is the former president of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Palm Beach and the Westchester Women's Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  Mrs. Eigen is also the founder of Cloud Ten, a children’s clothing store in Palm Beach.

Thomas C. Quick is a retired vice chairman of Quick & Reilly/Fleet Securities, Inc.  In 1998 Quick & Reilly became part of Fleet, now FleetBoston Financial Corporation, one of the nation’s largest and most successful financial services firms and holding company of one of the nation’s largest banks.  From 1996 to 1998 when the firm was acquired by Fleet, Mr. Quick was president and chief operating officer of The Quick & Reilly Group, Inc. the New York Stock Exchange-listed holding company for the firm’s securities businesses.  From 1985 to 1996 he was President of Quick & Reilly, Inc., the leading national discount brokerage firm.  Mr. Quick is affiliated with the boards of several local charities, including the Norton Museum of Art, the Palm Beach Zoo and Best Buddies.  Mr. Quick also serves as a trustee of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, The National Corporate Theater Fund and Fairfield University, his alma mater, and is a member of the board of directors of Senesco Technologies, Inc. and BF Enterprises, Inc.

Lesly Smith, president of the Fortin Foundation of Florida and the Fortin Child Care Foundation, served as mayor of the Town of Palm Beach from 2000 to 2005 and as president of the Palm Beach Town Council from 1995 to 2000.  She currently serves as a director of the Grassy Waters Nature Preserve, Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League and the Pitt Foundation.  She is also a trustee of the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach and The Society of the Four arts.  Ms. Smith is the widow of Earl E.T. Smith, former United States Ambassador to Cuba.

Mr. Mack and his campaign leadership team will be supported by Palm Healthcare Foundation’s board and staff to raise the remaining funds needed for the Pavilion and increase awareness about the project.  “With the incredible leadership that we have been so fortunate to draw to this project, we know that our campaign will be successful,” said Bob Jaffe, Palm Healthcare Foundation chair.  “Thanks to their support, we will give special needs children a healthier tomorrow.” 

The public launch of the Palm Healthcare Pavilion capital campaign will be held on April 12, 2007 at 11:00am at 5205 Greenwood Avenue, West Palm Beach.  Please call 833-6333 for more information.

About the Palm Healthcare Pavilion, Home of the Mollie Wilmot Children’s Center

The Palm Healthcare Pavilion, a project of Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc., Palm Beach County’s leading public healthcare foundation, will bring together the region’s leading medical and academic institutions to create a full spectrum of services to provide outpatient care for special needs children with chronic health conditions such as juvenile diabetes, severe hearing loss, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, kidney disorders, sickle cell disease, and asthma.  Support services including a state-of-the-art patient safety center will provide families and caregivers hands-on training, and high-tech telemedicine and conference facilities for healthcare workers will allow for the exchange of information locally, and around the world.  Recognizing the growing epidemic of Type II diabetes, the Palm Healthcare Pavilion will also be home to the Diabetes Center for Prevention, Education, Management and Research.  The Pavilion, a green building project adhering to the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, will be located on Greenwood Avenue in West Palm Beach.

About Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc.
Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc. was chartered in 2001 as an independent community healthcare foundation. Believing that “Together We Can Do More,” the foundation’s mission is to transform healthcare challenges by bringing together the talents and resources of the community to create innovative solutions that deliver high-impact results. The Foundation’s funding priorities—access to healthcare, healthcare quality and safety, healthcare technology, healthcare policy and healthcare workforce—are designed to empower non-profit healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals to create programs and services that improve the quality of life for Palm Beach County’s underserved citizens.  Since 2001, the Foundation has distributed more than $14 million to over 70 non-profit organizations in Palm Beach County operating over 130 programs that met its funding goals.  To learn more about Palm Healthcare Foundation, please visit www.palmhealthcare.org.