Hospital gets major donation for cancer treatment center

The $3 million donation from Carol Stillwell will go specifically to Riverview Medical Center's oncology center, the hospital announced

RED BANK -- Riverview Medical Center is getting a $3 million donation for its oncology expansion project from a businesswoman whose family members were treated at the Red Bank hospital.

The money pledged by Carol Stillwell, president of Stillwell-Hansen Inc. in Edison, will be used specifically for the hospital's BuildingHOPE effort, which includes a 29,000-square-foot infusion center designed to make treatment for cancer patients more comfortable, John Lloyd, president and CEO of Meridian Health, announced Wednesday at Meridian Health's annual meeting.

The center, called the Larkin-Stillwell-Hansen Infusion Center, features 20 new infusion areas lined with floor-to-ceiling windows to give patients a view of the Navesink River.

"It is an honor to be able to give back to Riverview Medical Center, as I truly consider Riverview to be at the root of my journey with the Meridian family," Stillwell said.

Opened in February, the center includes two TrueBeam linear accelerators - the most advanced technology available in radiation therapy, Lloyd said. New specialists will join the staff to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to care, he said., noting that patients will have greater access to Meridian Cancer Care nurse navigators to guide them through the treatment process.

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"Carol's impact on Meridian Health goes far beyond major gifts," Lloyd said. "She walks through the halls of our hospitals and simply brings joy to those around her. She is known by all of our team members as someone who not only supports worthy causes through monetary donations, but donates her time and energy to passionately change the world for the better."

Stillwell's late father received cancer treatment at Riverview and her late mother, her brother-in-law, her husband and her twin sister Mary Ann were also treated at Meridian facilities, she said.

Stillwell is a trustee on the Bayshore Community Hospital Foundation and is on the Meridian Health Foundation board of trustees.

She provides annual nursing scholarships at Bayshore and hosts an annual nurses' appreciation event, where she spends an evening out with more than 100 Bayshore nurses to celebrate their commitment to patient care, hospital officials said.

"I have spent many days at Riverview with precious family and friends while they were undergoing various treatments and it was in some of those most difficult hours that I witnessed firsthand the finest care and compassion that the Riverview family had to offer," Stillwell said. "It is with great pride and in keeping with my heartfelt belief in giving back, that I support this major expansion to assist Riverview in continuing to provide for the needs of the future patients of our community."

Through its BuildingHOPE campaign, Meridian is spending $128 million over three years on community-based cancer services at six locations in Monmouth and Ocean counties, Lloyd said.