Martin Richman, Vice President of Philanthropy, Milford Regional Healthcare Foundation
Photo/Matt Pilon
Raising money to pay for the most expensive project Milford Regional Medical Center has ever undertaken seems like a daunting task. But Martin Richman, 44, doesn't look nervous. But that's not surprising from someone who has taught a public speaking course at Clark University for the past 15 years. The energetic Worcester resident, who is overseeing fundraising for a $54-million emergency room expansion, has been in the non-profit fundraising world in Central Massachusetts for more than two decades, and just hit the five-year mark at Milford. MRMC netted $1.7 million from three fundraisers in 2012 with area businesses like EMC Corp., not including commitments that so far remain confidential. The campaign will officially kick off later this year.
What's your background in the fundraising?
When I first came to Central Massachusetts, I actually followed my now wife, who works at Clark University, to a job at Bancroft School. I was there for 10 years doing alumni relations and campus communications and also fundraised for them. The last three years there, I was director of development. From there I had a short time at Saint Mark's School in Southborough. And not long after my time there, was recruited to go to the Worcester Art Museum. I was there for six and a half years as director of development and marketing.
Milford announced its ER and ICU expansion in Jan. 2012. What went into the timing of that announcement? Was the perceived state of the economy a factor?
It became very clear probably 18 months before we made that announcement that this was a project on the top of everybody's mind. And even though the economy was certainly a concern, we needed to talk about this very seriously. If you've ever been in our ER, it's undersized by tens of thousands of visits a year. We're not talking about 'it would be nice to have a bigger ER.' It's undersized by half.
Milford is an independent, private hospital, and one that is actually generating a relatively healthy surplus at a time of big change in the industry. How does that play into your task?
The last two years have actually been some of the best two we've had. So that positions us really well. We feel we'd much rather be a healthy organization and be in a position to be able to say 'join our success' as opposed to 'help us not fail.' It's a different message.
What do the plans look like for the expansion?
We just submitted the determination-of-need application to the state, and the project has certainly grown in scope a little bit when it comes to how many rooms, how big the rooms need to be...we've actually added parking underneath the building. We want it to be state of the art. The all-in project cost we've filed with the state is $54 million. So we've gone from the original estimate (of $40 million) and that really was a very rough estimate.
What role will financing play in this project?
A big role. These projects are extremely expensive in a health care environment. Code regulations, equipment, amenities: All those things are increasingly expensive. Traditionally in Milford, philanthropy has never been able to in finance the whole thing, but we are I believe on the track (for philanthropy) to finance a larger percentage than we've ever financed before. It remains to be seen.
We can't do this on our own. Philanthropy has to be the biggest part, or this wont work. Because the more we borrow the more we use in cash and the weaker our financials are and the less likely well be able to succeed moving forward.
What's your pitch like?
This is significant. So that's how I pitch it. A lot of these people have had experiences. I don't have to tell them what it's like to be in an ER. There's no privacy. We take great care of them, but it's not the way we want to take care of them. We talk about the aging population and the need for the hospital and we talk about the more philanthropic dollars we have for the project, the stronger the institution will be. Especially because of the unknowns in health care and health care reform.
So the changing health care landscape is a part of the discussion?
Absolutely. Our goal is to remain a private, independent hospital. We are among the few in Massachusetts. We're not the only one, for sure. But there are certainly fewer than there were 12 months ago.
This article was edited for length and content by Matt Pilon.
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