Levy Gift to Support Innovations in Care for Seriously Ill Patients
A $1-million gift from Susan and Richard Levy D ’60 will fuel the rapid-cycle development and testing of new ways of caring for individuals with serious illnesses. The couple’s gift to the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth launches the Susan & Richard Levy Health Care Delivery Incubator, a joint initiative between Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH) that will bring together multidisciplinary teams of researchers and frontline healthcare providers to improve patient care.
“Susan and Dick Levy’s vision and generous support allow us to leverage the strengths of both of our institutions to solve real-world challenges in healthcare,” said Duane Compton, PhD, Dean of the Geisel School of Medicine. “This is a great example of how philanthropy can catalyze innovation.”
A 1960 graduate of Dartmouth College, Dick Levy earned his PhD in nuclear chemistry from the University of California Berkeley and is the former CEO and chairman of Palo Alto-based Varian Medical Systems. His hands-on approach to management and the efforts he took to empower employees is well known in Silicon Valley and beyond. Dick is especially passionate about improving quality and lowering costs within health care systems.
In addition to gifts from Susan and Dick Levy, the Incubator is supported by philanthropic funds from the Office of the Provost at Dartmouth College and the Health Transformation Research Fund at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health. It will be based at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, which is part of Geisel.
The Incubator is focused on serious illnesses, which are conditions that negatively impact quality of life and daily function, can lead to death, and/or are burdensome in symptoms, treatments, or caregiver stress.
“Facing a life-threatening illness is inherently stressful for patients and their families, as well as for those who care for them. If we can improve the way we deliver care, we can minimize suffering, improve health outcomes, and often reduce costs,” said Amber Barnato, MD, the Susan J. and Richard M. Levy Distinguished Professor in Health Care Delivery at The Dartmouth Institute and a palliative care physician at D-HH. Barnato is co-directing the Incubator with Mary Oseid, Senior Vice President for Regional Strategy and Operations at D-HH.
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