Boothbay summer residents John and Leslie Malone donated an historic $25 million to Maine Medical Center’s NEXT 150 Campaign June 15. The donation brings the campaign to $135 million, within hitting distance of the Portland hospital’s “next $150 Million” investment and the last leg of a $534 million project begun in late 2016. The final piece of the project – a six-story, 265,000 square foot tower dedicated to cardiac care – will be named Malone Family Tower and is slated for a 2023 completion. 

John said the donation was driven by personal experience and acknowledgment of MMC’s role as Maine’s central hub of premier healthcare. When Leslie received cardiac care from MMC about six years ago, the couple saw high quality care and its importance to all Maine people, said John.

“It's a very important asset for the state. Being here at the corner of the country with an aging population and no for-profit hospitals I can think of … it's really up to Maine Medical and its network to take care of the state and they do a great job.”

John said the people of Maine have the state to thank for the high quality healthcare providers who have decided to call it home and for those who choose to stay to grow their career. “It has national level quality, draws heavily I think from (those) that want a higher quality of life than they get in denser areas, for those who like the trees and the water. If you need it, it's there. I think that's the most important thing especially for a widely distributed state, a lot of rural small towns which really just can't afford much more than a clinic if that. It's a critical facility in a state like this.”

John said he and Leslie are grateful the new tower will have the Malone name. “I'm always happy to memorialize my family if I can a little bit. I always have second thoughts about those kinds of things, but the (family) thought it was a nice thing, so I said ‘fine’ … I'm hoping my family regards Maine as their second home if not their first home.”