Our goal is to provide world-class, integrated care for digestive health across New England and beyond. The generosity and legacy of Walter and Carole Young will now make that possible.
Corey A. Siegel, MD, director of the Walter and Carole Young Center for Digestive Health and section chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at DHMCDartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth have received an estate gift of more than $14 million to revolutionize digestive health at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). This bequest from the late Walter and Carole Young is one of the largest gifts in the history of New Hampshire’s only academic medical center.
The gift, divided into thirds, will be used to create the Walter and Carole Young Pancreas Center at DHMC, dedicated to the care of individuals with pancreatic disorders as well as advancing pancreas research and education programs; to fund and create of the Walter and Carole Young Center for Digestive Health dedicated to uniting and expanding clinical programs and research in gastroenterology, hepatology, GI surgery, endoscopy, colorectal cancer care, and obesity medicine; and the remaining portion of the gift will establish the Walter and Carole Young Professorship in General Surgery at Geisel School of Medicine, enabling the medical school to attract and retain top surgical talent and provide ample resources to train tomorrow’s surgeons in critical areas across the spectrum of digestive health.
“The extraordinary generosity of Walter and Carole Young will have a profound and lasting impact on the quality of care we can deliver to our patients,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “This gift not only exemplifies the power of philanthropy to drive healthcare innovation, but it also reinforces our foundational commitment to delivering world-class, integrated care to members of our extended patient population. The Youngs’ vision and compassion for this community will resonate through generations, touching the lives of patients, families, and healthcare professionals for years to come.”
This highly impactful gift will significantly enhance patient care; accelerate critical education, research, and clinical trial programs; and expand both medical treatment and surgery options for a host of digestive health conditions—from pancreatic and liver diseases to Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders, and obesity. Additionally, the investment will solidify Dartmouth Health’s digestive health programs as the most innovative and comprehensive in New England.
Through its wide-reaching impact on patient care, research, and training, “this gift has allowed us to build an integrated center that draws expertise from various specialties,” said Corey A. Siegel, MD, director of the Walter and Carole Young Center for Digestive Health and section chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at DHMC. “We can now deliver truly comprehensive care and turn innovative ideas into reality.”
The Youngs’ connection to Dartmouth Health’s DHMC began in 2012, when Walter initially sought treatment for pancreatic duct stone disease. After first being diagnosed, Walter was referred to DHMC pancreas surgeon Kerrington D. Smith, MD. When Smith removed multiple stones from his pancreatic duct, Walter finally felt relief from debilitating symptoms that had prevented him from digesting food. Smith’s attentiveness to Walter post-surgery, and his unwavering commitment to Walter’s full recovery, made a lasting impression. Walter was also introduced to DHMC gastroenterologist Timothy B. Gardner, MD and was impressed by the innovative treatments that he envisioned bringing to patients in the region. Walter's excellent care and learning about the vision for the future is what motivated the Youngs to support the Center for Digestive Health.
“Our goal is to provide world-class, integrated care for digestive health across New England and beyond,” said Siegel, and the generosity and legacy of Walter and Carole Young will now make that possible. “This gift gives us the ability to operationalize what we believe is the best possible care for patients, with a sustainable model that will influence digestive health for years to come.”
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.
About the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, founded in 1797, strives to improve the lives of the communities we serve through excellence in learning, discovery, and healing. The nation's fourth-oldest medical school, the Geisel School of Medicine has been home to many firsts in medical education, research and practice, including the discovery of the mechanism for how light resets biological clocks, creating the first multispecialty intensive care unit, the first comprehensive examination of U.S. health care cost variations (The Dartmouth Atlas), and the first Center for Health Care Delivery Science, which launched in 2010. As one of America's top medical schools, Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine is committed to training new generations of physician leaders who will help solve our most vexing challenges in health care.