Another $1 Million in Riverview's Coffers

It was a lofty goal when the Riverview Medical Center Foundation Board set out on it more than a year and a half ago.

To help fund the construction of a new surgical excellence center at the Red Bank hospital, which serves the two river area, including , the foundation said it wanted to raise a minimum of $15 million.

With each passing month the foundation is edging closer to that goal. The hospital recently announced a $1 million contribution, one of several its received throughout its capital campaign called “Life. Changing.” In all, the campaign has raised more than $13 million.

The most recent gift came from Nancy B. Mulheren through the J.A.M Anonymous Foundation, the hospital said in a release. The president and CEO of Rumson Management, a real estate management company, Mulheren sits on several boards, including the Count Basie Theatre’s, and is a relatively new member of the foundation’s board of trustees.

Mulheren is also the director of the J.A.M. Anonymous Foundation, which was established in tribute to her late husband John and dedicated to continuing his philanthropic legacy, a hospital release states.

“Most of my family lives in the towns surrounding Riverview Medical Center, and we truly believe in helping the community,” Mulheren said in a statement. “We know first-hand the importance of quality health care in our region and I am grateful to the staff and the administration of the hospital for constantly striving to create a medical center of excellence right here in Monmouth County.”

The 22,000-square foot center for surgical excellence will be located at the Blaisedell Pavilion and will include two sophisticated specialty surgical suits, a state-of-the-art conference center, a renovated post-anesthesia case area, and a new education facility, among other improvements.

The capital campaign has been aided by several significant donations in the past year. In March, founders of the Two River Theater, donated $5 million to the campaign. Soon after, the hospital also received a $1 million gift from campaign co-chair , and another $500,000 from co-chair Domenic DiPiero. George and Vita Kolber also donated $1 million to the campaign.

The center, which is scheduled to open in 2012, fills a growing need for care in the area. According to officials with the hospital, surgical volume has grown by more than 20 percent in recent years. Riverview has also gone more than 25 years without significant improvements to its surgery center.