River Community Wellness Gets Huge Donations From Philanthropist

Philanthropist, 97, gives River Hospital $1m
Watertown Daily
By KENNETH J. EYSAMAN
MAGAZINE EDITOR
PUBLISHED: MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015

Launched in February 2013, the River Community Wellness Program is the nation’s only civilian outpatient treatment program serving soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. The Army announced May 13 the program would end in July. But on May 30, Army officials agreed to a reprieve.

ALEXANDRIA BAY — A $1 million donation by a longtime north country philanthropist will kick-start a capital campaign aimed at helping River Hospital expand its River Community Wellness Program, hospital Chief Executive Officer Ben Moore III announced Sunday.

Retired businessman and philanthropist Richard R. Macsherry, 97, shared news of his latest gift with nearly 250 hospital supporters gathered for River Hospital Foundation’s 13th annual Festive Evening at Bonnie Castle Resort and Marina.

“This is my 98th year on the river,” Mr. Macsherry said, adding that the hospital is an “important institution worth our support.”

Three years ago, Mr. Macsherry, then 94, suffered a serious injury after a fall that required him to be airlifted to a hospital in Utica, said his son, Richard H., a retired hospital administrator and member of River Hospital’s Board of Trustees.
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