Record-breaking gift enhances surgical care in Calaveras County

San Andreas, Calif. (April 13, 2021) – Mark Twain Medical Center Foundation has received the largest one-time gift ever recorded in the history of the foundation. The generous $4.5 million gift from the Wings of Freedom Foundation will be designated to upgrade the surgery department at Mark Twain Medical Center.

“We are honored to receive this extraordinary gift from the Wings of Freedom Foundation,” says Charanjit Singh, philanthropy manager with Mark Twain's foundation. "This transformational gift will have a significant impact on the health of those throughout our region."

This pioneering investment will strengthen the fight against disease and injury by upgrading facilities and adding specialized equipment for advanced procedures. The surgery department at Mark Twain Medical Center is currently staffed by highly skilled physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologists and nursing teams. Surgical services are a key component in providing specialty care services to Calaveras County. While the current facility meets the needs of today, this generous gift will allow us to meet the ever-changing needs of our community tomorrow and well into the future.

“Refreshing the operating room and bringing in newer technologies will allow us to perform surgeries that are being performed elsewhere, often outside the county,” says Pardeep Athwal, MD, Chief Medical Officer and radiologist. “Patients don’t want to leave the community for their care. With this generous gift we will be able to continue to provide state-of-the-art surgical care to our patients in our community,” adds Dr. Athwal.

The upgrade of the existing surgical services unit and adjacent areas will incorporate the latest technology to enhance best practices in pre-operative care, surgical care and post-operative care, providing improved operating rooms to accommodate advanced surgical procedures.

Improvements in surgical technologies and medicine also will increase the number of cases that can be performed in an outpatient setting.

“The modernization of surgery services is a big step for Mark Twain,” says Doug Archer, President and CEO of Mark Twain Medical Center. “This gift is a boost to the entire hospital as the project symbolizes the donors’ commitment to our community and the hospitals’ ability to remain at the forefront of excellence in patient care.”

Upon completion of the project, the surgery department will be named the Betty Higgins Surgical Center in honor of her commitment to our community.