Annual Giving Report 2017

“We appreciate the caregiver side. When a family member experiences a stroke, it can be exhausting and draining for loved ones.” Gary & Kathy Hanson Egg Harbor Township & Naples, Florida Treated at AtlantiCare’s Comprehensive Stroke Center 2015 Donor since 2011

instinct to do the latter, but think twice about that.” “The care teamwas excellent. Everyone was terrific. Mary Tiernan, one of my nurses, made a special connection to make sure we knew what to expect,” Gary said. Gary is an AtlantiCare board member and has been a long time donor of the AtlantiCare Foundation. The Hansons’ continued support has enabled the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center to launch several new projects and services, foster innovations in healthcare and respond to barriers in the community that have an impact on the health status of the community. Gary and Kathy raised their two children in Absecon while he worked as an Atlantic City Electric executive. They currently share time between their home in Egg Harbor Township and Naples, Florida. Gary and Kathy recently celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary.

Gary Hanson was 64 when he had his stroke on October 9, 2015. “Up until that time, I had been feeling fine. I had gone to bed at about 11:30 p.m. on October 8. We had held my father’s viewing and funeral earlier that day. My wife woke at about 2:30 the next morning. She says I was thrashing around in the bed and realized something wasn’t right. She called 911,”explained Gary. Egg Harbor Township Ambulance and Police responded, as did AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s paramedics. “By dialing 911 and sharing specific paramedics would be among the first responders to help her husband,” said Thomas Brabson, D.O., chairman, ARMC Emergency Medical Services. ARMC paramedics rode in the ambulance to care for Gary on his way to ARMC Atlantic City Campus. information about Mr. Hanson’s symptoms, Mrs. Hanson ensured

Jorge L. Eller, MD, and his team operated on Gary to remove the clot in his brain. Dr. Eller performed an emergency mechanical thrombectomy. “When I woke to find Gary having stroke symptoms, I thought my life was changing before my eyes,” says Kathy Hanson. “I felt like there was nothing I could do. It was so far frommy mind in terms of what I thought could happen to him, especially since it was just days after his father’s stroke. I was so grateful to know what to do and where to go.” The difference for Gary compared to his father, Alfred, was that the doctors were able to get to his clot quickly and remove it, leading to a successful recovery. But that delay in care for someone having a stroke, like Gary, could have been deadly. “It’s important to note that they (the Hansons) reacted so quickly and had the foresight to call 911 instead of sleeping through the night,” Eller said. “It’s a natural

12 Annual Report on Giving 2017