When Eugene McNally passed away in late 2008, he stipulated in his will that $200,000 of his estate be donated to the Lorraine M. LaPilusa Cancer Treatment Center at Bayonne Medical Center.
Treated for a short time at BMC during the last years of his life, McNally apparently never forgot the work he and others did establishing the cancer center back in 1992, or how much it was needed then and now.
On June 6, Steven Rose, Esq. and John LaPilusa delivered the check to Daniel Kane, BMC’s president and chief executive officer.
The cancer center first opened its doors in October 1992 and allowed for patients to receive local treatment for the first time rather than traveling out of Bayonne.
‘This will increase the comprehensiveness of our services.’ – Daniel Kane
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Loraine, born and raised in Hudson County, was a graduate of the Jersey City Medical Center School of Nursing and eventually became the chief orthopedic nurse there, before taking over management of her husband’s medical office in Bayonne. After a long and difficult struggle, she died of cancer in 1989.
Vowing that Bayonne residents would not have to travel to New York for treatment, Dr. LaPilusa joined with other residents to fund the creation of the center. LaPilusa became the chairman of the fundraising project called “Together for Life,” which raised nearly $4 million the center needed, and that amount was backed by the Bayonne Hospital Foundation. McNally was one of the members of the Founders’ Committee.
Considered the Bayonne hospital’s most significant project for 1992, the facility provided more than 700 radiation therapy treatments in its first two months of operation. The facility far exceeded that amount in the following year, when it provided more than 5,000 treatments.
At the time, the pavilion was considered one of the most sophisticated cancer treatment facilities in New Jersey.
The hospital – in order to get the center – had to jump through a significant number of state hurdles, including feasibility studies, applications for approval, and designs for the facility, according to then-Board President Herman Brockman.
Combined with the hospital’s chemotherapy and surgical services, the center represented a huge advance in local treatment options.
Remembering the commitment he had made to the center nearly 20 years earlier, McNally bequeathed in his will that $200,000 be donated to provide necessary upgrades and remodeling to the center.
John LaPilusa – Dr. LaPilusa’s cousin – presented the check to Daniel Kane.
Kane said the money will be used to purchase a new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner for the pavilion. This is a device that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body, and this is used to detect cancer, determine whether a cancer has spread in the body, if it has returned after going into remission, as well as a number of heart and brain related uses.
Currently, BMC provides PET scan services once a week on Saturday. By providing a PET scanner to the pavilion, the hospital could provide the service much more often.
“This will increase the comprehensiveness of our services.” Kane said. “We will be able to treat more patients and residents of Bayonne and Jersey City, who will not have to go elsewhere.”
McNally’s donation will help upgrade the facility and provide the hospital with “a first rate, state of the art” facility.
BMC management’s annual report shows that BMC’s owners have made more than $17 million in capital improvements since taking over the hospital in 2008, which includes new programs and new initiatives.
Kane said the hospital is currently working to build a new radiation oncology center, which could open later in 2011.
Renovations to the facility are expected to start within a few weeks, Kane said, and be completed within a few months.
This will be part of a $5 million modernization of the Cancer Center.
Hospital gets accreditation from The Commission on Cancer
Corresponding to this donation was the announcement that BMC has had its accreditation renewed with the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, and is currently the only accredited cancer program in Hudson County.
This accreditation is given only to those facilities that have voluntarily committed to provide the best in diagnosis and treatment of cancer, Kane said.
To meet the standards necessary, each cancer program must undergo a rigorous evaluation process and a review of its performance.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.