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MDI Hospital gets $4M gift to help fund major upgrade

A rendering shows a brick building and walkway. RENDERING / COURTESY of SMRT, MDI HOSPITAL Construction of a new emergency department entry at Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor is underway.
By Laurie Schreiber

Months after receiving a $10 million lead gift from television producer and philanthropist Dick Wolf, Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor has received a $4 million commitment from Ruth M. Colket to help fund a major facilities upgrade.

“I love this hospital, and I’m proud of everything it stands for," she said. "When I saw an opportunity to help, I knew I had to take action.”

The money is going toward a $41.3 million project to expand and modernize the hospital’s downtown campus with a state-of-the-art emergency department, upgraded surgical suites, a dedicated ambulance bay and new patient entrances.

A rendering shows a lobby and furnishings.
RENDERING / COURTESY of SMRT, MDI HOSPITAL
The main entry interior.

The project is being paid for with a combination of federal funds; philanthropic donations from individuals, foundations and businesses; internal board-designated funding; and lines of credit. 

Colket was among the first to step forward as an honorary chair of the campaign, along with Bob and Arlene Kogod, David and Susan Rockefeller and Wolf. 

The Kogods, of Washington, D.C., and Seal Harbor, provided $3 million to build the Kogod Family Center for Medical Education. Located near the hospital, the center was completed last year.

A construction site is in back of a brick building.
Photo / Courtesy MDI Hospital
An expansion and modernization project at MDI Hospital is underway.

Nearing campaign goal

The campaign has raised more than $53 million toward its $55 million goal.

The hospital, a critical access hospital and safety-net health care provider, serves a year-round population of some 5,500 plus a seasonal spike of summer residents and Acadia National Park visitors.

Annually, the hospital logs more than 70,000 patient visits across the year-round and visitor constituencies.

An aerial view shows a construction site.
Photo / Courtesy MDI Hospital
The entire expansion comprises 42,600 square feet. The emergency department portion equals 10,524 square feet, tripling its footprint.

The entire expansion comprises 42,600 square feet. The emergency department portion equals 10,524 square feet, tripling its footprint. 

Regular donors

Colket and her husband, Tristram, have made previous gifts to the hospital. That included the hospital’s first $1 million donation, in 2004, to establish the Colket Inpatient Care Center, which built inpatient units, an intensive care unit and expanded nursing education.

A person poses for a headshot.
Photo / Courtesy MDI Hospital
Ruth Colket

In 2010, the couple's $3 million gift enabled the hospital to buy a nearby medical building and surrounding properties, which increased access to primary and specialty outpatient care. In 2016, they funded two triage rooms in the emergency department.

The family has donated to other local organizations, including fire and EMS services, the American Red Cross, Mount Desert Nursing Association, Maine Seacoast Mission, the Bar Harbor YMCA, Island Housing Trust, Friends of Acadia and Jesup Memorial Library.

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