Cheshire Medical Center reaches $42 million community-led capital campaign goal

Cheshire Medical Center (Cheshire), a member of Dartmouth Health, announced on June 3 that it surpassed its $42 million fundraising goal for the “Our Community, Our Future” capital campaign, a community-led effort to expand and modernize patient care services for residents of the Greater Monadnock region.

The campaign, which entered its silent phase in December 2024, and launched publicly in November 2025, supports key initiatives including expansion of cancer care, modernization and expansion of surgical services and increased access to advanced outpatient care.

While the campaign goal has been reached, escalating construction costs necessitate Cheshire continuing to fundraise. Cheshire invites the entire community of the Greater Monadnock region to join them and those who have already donated as they continue to seek needed support for these important patient care needs. To date, nearly 650 households have given in support of the capital campaign.

“As a not-for-profit, Cheshire Medical Center’s mission is to deliver compassionate and excellent care to all we serve. We understand that it is vitally important for every member of the Greater Monadnock community—people who are also our family, friends and neighbors—to have ready access to the best possible medical care when and where they need it,” said Joe Perras, MD, President and CEO of Cheshire Medical Center. “Through the ‘Our Community, Our Future’ capital campaign, our community has in turn shown us how much they value Cheshire. Thanks to their incredible generosity, we have exceeded our $42 million fundraising goal to expand patient care services. I am humbled by and grateful for the profound level of support we have received, and excited for the changes this will help bring to the Medical Center. I also want to acknowledge and thank our campaign volunteers and philanthropy team, whose tireless work has helped us reach this moment.”

A major focus of the campaign is the expansion of the Dartmouth Cancer Center at Cheshire Medical Center, including the addition of a second linear accelerator to meet growing patient needs for radiation therapy. The project is expected to be completed this summer, with patient treatments anticipated to begin in September.

The campaign also supports long-planned upgrades to Cheshire’s surgical services. Plans include four new, state-of-the-art operating rooms; the combination of two existing operating rooms into a single, modernized space with hybrid capabilities; and for the two remaining surgical spaces, which encompass an operating room and minor procedures room, fully modernizing them while leaving their footprints unchanged. Cheshire’s existing operating rooms are more than 50 years old and the planned changes to surgical services will help meet the growing care needs of patients.

“We are thrilled to be announcing that we have met our fundraising goal for the capital campaign. It is the extraordinary generosity of our community members that made this possible, and we are deeply grateful to them,” said Sandie Phipps, Vice President, Philanthropy & Community Relations. “Although we have reached goal, our work must continue due to escalating costs. We plan to continue fundraising to put Cheshire Medical Center in the best possible position as we strive to expand vitally important patient care services. This campaign has been community-led, and we invite everyone to join us in giving as we work together to help Cheshire expand patient care now and for future generations.”

In addition to cancer and surgical services, campaign funding will support expanded outpatient care, including growth in gastroenterology and additional cancer treatment space. Each of these strategic priorities will help keep care close to home for our patients.

“The community has been instrumental in bringing us to this point, and for that I am extremely grateful,” said Jane Larmon, Chair of the Cheshire Health Foundation Board of Trustees, and Capital Campaign Co-Chair. “Reaching $42 million is a tremendous achievement, but our fundraising work must continue, and we ask all of our community members to consider joining us in giving whatever they can to support our not-for-profit hospital.”

Cheshire will continue fundraising efforts to address increasing construction costs to ensure the full scope of planned projects can be completed to meet patient care needs.

For more information about the “Our Community, Our Future” capital campaign, or to make a gift, please visit online at Cheshiremed.org/CHF or call (603) 354-5403.