From left, AtlantiCare Foundation Chairman Pat Agnellini, Sal The Voice Valentinetti and AtlantiCare CEO Lori Herndon.
ATLANTIC CITY - The AtlantiCare Foundation concert held at Borgate Casino and Spa on Oct. 13 marked the conclusion of AtlantiCare's 40 Years of Giving Campaign, which has raised nearly $2.4 million. The concert featured Sal The Voice Valentinetti and the Bay Atlantic Symphony and commemorated the concert Frank Sinatra held to benefit what was then Atlantic City Medical Center City Division in 1978.
Valentinetti performed Frank Sinatra's My Way during Season 11 of America's Got Talent in 2016.
AtlantiCare President and CEO Lori Herndon thanked those who supported the campaign over the last 40 years.
From the generous individuals who give of their time and resources, to groups including RNS and our auxiliaries at both campuses, to our generous sponsors who continuously give to events such as this, your support of our efforts has translated into our ability to make a difference in the lives of those we serve, Herndon said.
In 1977, the AtlantiCare Foundation was established, and one year later, Frank Sinatra came to town to raise the necessary resources and set the stage for the future success of AtlantiCare, foundation Chairman Pat Agnellini said.
He thanked attendees and all who have contributed their time and talent for the tremendous work that we've been able to achieve together, in an effort to improve the health and wellbeing of our shared community.
Former AtlantiCare Chairman Stanley Grossman and CEO Lori Herndon.
Atlantic City Medical Center City Division now AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Atlantic City Campus was an aging facility in the late 1970s when the hospital's revenue rarely exceeded expenses. Though it was in a dire situation, the hospital continued to care for all in the community regardless of patients' ability to pay.
The late Billy Weinberger, then president of Ballys New Jersey, and the late James Crosby, founder and chairman of Resorts International, were new hospital board members in 1978. Weinberger worked with Stanley Grossman, then vice chairman of the board and now past chairman of the AtlantiCare Board, to arrange the concert.
Grossman and his late wife, Marsha, co-hosted the concert with the late Joseph Stella, M.D. and his wife, Lida. The Sinatra concert took place Oct. 29, 1978 at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. Resorts International Hotel Casino, which opened in May of 1978, purchased $100,000 in concert tickets. Crosby also made a personal donation to ACMC to match the amount raised at the concert. Resorts was among the sponsors of the event this year.
That concert netted more than $560,000 and donations from the community brought the total funds raised to nearly $1 million.
On Easter Sunday, April 15, 1979, Frank Sinatra and his wife Barbara attended the ceremony AtlantiCare held to rename the South Wing of the City Division the Frank Sinatra Wing.
From left, Lami Momodu, Sal The Voice Valentinetti, and Inua A Momodu, M.D., chairman Department of Psychiatry, AtlantiCare.
