PHC receives $250,000 donation
Putnam County Courier
January 31, 2008

CARMEL-Paul Camarda has kept his promise.

Camarda known affectionately throughout the area as Putnam's Donald Trump, delivered a $250,000 check to Putnam Hospital Center Friday as the second installment of his $500,000 contribution to the hospital's new 113,000-square foot, $34 million addition that will allow cancer patients to have a state-of-the-art facility in which to receive radiation treatments close to home.

Camarda toured the new wing and was greatly impressed: "Putnam Hospital is now at the cutting edge of all forms of health care treatment. Our new treatment center will be as modern and technologically advanced as any other facility in the U.S."

Camarda was asked why he made such a generous donation to the hospital.

"This is the right thing to do. The community has been good to me and this is my way of giving back. I call it civic or corporate responsibility. Putnam Hospital is a tremendous asset to our county and is only getting better every day. When fighting cancer, patients go through very traumatic times. Now individuals will be able to get their treatment locally instead of traveling to lower Westchester or Manhattan. The new Camarda Care Center will be a tremendous asset to families who are experiencing very tough times," he said.

Putnam Hospital Center Vice President Jeffrey Kellogg accompanied Camarda on the tour along with Elizabeth Gomez, director of the hospital's oncology department.

Kellogg called Camarda a "true friend of the hospital. We are pleased and happy for Mr. Camarda's support."

Gomez explained the centerpiece of the new cancer treatment center was a $2.5 million piece of radiation equipment called a Linac Radiation Device that will sit on a 2,800 pound concrete slab in the middle of an 80 foot by 30 foot vault.

The equipment will be shipped from California next week and will arrive at the hospital on Feb.9 with a team of technicians and engineers. Gomez said no other hospital in the region had such intricate technology available to its patients.

Construction on the new addition continues on schedule with crews installing sheet rock and painting interior walls.

Plans call for the new center to open in late spring that will consist of not only the cancer center but 70 new private patient rooms, physicians' offices and a new community auditorium.