Estate
Gift to Transform DHART’s Ability to Deliver Care in Rural Northeast
Dartmouth Health Advanced Response Team (DHART) has received a transformational gift through the final will and testament of a former patient. The $6.7 million from the estate of Les Haynes to Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) will be used to initiate a phased expansion of DHART that stands to transform its ability to reach patients in every community across northern New England, no matter how remote.
Haynes, who lived in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, credited DHART with saving his life on several occasions. As a resident of rural northern New England, Haynes recognized the difficulty some patients face in traveling to
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A Transformational Estate Gift to DHART
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vital scheduled appointments at DHMC. To help, Haynes frequently volunteered to drive members of his community to the hospital.
“Les Haynes was dedicated to ensuring everyone in the community has access to high-quality, lifesaving healthcare. His gifts to Dartmouth Health are a shining example of the power of philanthropy to transform a challenge into an opportunity,” said Matthew P. Haag, chief development officer for Dartmouth Health. “Les was more than just a patient and neighbor to all of us at Dartmouth Health. He was also a vital partner in our work to make sure everyone across northern New England can lead their healthiest lives possible.”
DHMC is the home of New Hampshire’s only trauma center certified to provide the highest level of care for patients with traumatic injury, only 24-hour cardiac catheterization laboratory and only children’s hospital, and has the highest level neonatal intensive care unit in the state and surrounding region. DHMC’s highcaliber emergency and critical care, as well as the hospital’s geographic location near the border of New Hampshire and Vermont, make it a vital resource for all of northern New England when health crises arise. However, getting to Lebanon during an emergency can be difficult or even impossible.
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A DHART helicopter lands at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
The DHART ground team transports a patient to the Emergency Department at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
DHART helicopters and ambulances respond to thousands of transport requests annually in New Hampshire, Vermont, western Maine, upstate New York, and beyond as needed, delivering patients to DHMC or another appropriate medical facility and serve as an extension of the hospital in the air. The transportation team includes highly trained emergency medical professionals who can provide treatment in the field and in the air, and is equipped to provide services many air ambulances do not, such as blood transfusions and other emergency procedures.
“DHART has been operating for 30 years, and as many towns’ ambulances face staffing or funding shortages, and local hospitals have been forced to reduce specialty care programs, the demand for our services has only increased,” said DHART director Michael B. Mulhern.
After acquiring new ambulance and transport vehicles, phase two of the project will see the development of an EMT certification program to expand DHART’s workforce and will bring coordinated dispatch software to all Dartmouth Health member hospitals. Phase three will bring improved coordination across the fleet as well as improvements to DHART and other transport in southern New Hampshire.
“With this generous estate gift, we will begin enacting a plan to address these challenges and significantly expand our fleet and team.”
Because of Les Haynes’s foresight and generosity, DHART will be able to grow alongside the needs of patients and families across northern New England for generations to come.
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For more information about the Pinnacle Society, contact Katherine Blackman at 603–646-5858 or DH.Geisel.Planned.Giving@dartmouth.edu.
The annual Honor a Caregiver campaign is happening now! Celebrate with us and recognize a Dartmouth Health caregiver who made a difference in your life. Visit DHGeiselGiving.org/ Honor-a-Caregiver to share a tribute message or make a gift. All recognized caregivers will be notified and sent an ‘Honored Caregiver’ pin as a token of appreciation. Don’t wait — the 2025 campaign ends March 31.
A Gift in Your Will
A gift in your will that supports the work of Dartmouth Health or the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth should be directed to:
One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756
Tax ID# 26-4812335 (for Dartmouth Health) and Tax ID# 02-0222111 (for Geisel).
Sample language:
“I hereby, give, devise, and bequeath to , One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon NH 03756, tax ID #
the following sum [state the amount of the gift or asset(s)], or percent ( %) of my residuary estate, whichever is less, to this purpose: .”
For more information about tax-wise giving, please contact Katherine D. Blackman, Director of Planned Giving. Email DH.Geisel.Planned.Giving@dartmouth.edu, or phone at 603-646-5858. You can also visit DHGeiselPlannedGiving.org. All inquiries are confidential.
This past fall, the inaugural Dartmouth Innovation in Medicine & Healthcare Summit brought together more than 150 leaders to explore cutting-edge advancements in cancer therapeutics, digital health, and healthcare delivery. The event was hosted by Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, in partnership with Dartmouth’s Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship, Thayer School of Engineering, and Tuck School of Business.
Registration is now open for the 44th Annual Prouty! Participants can join by biking, walking, rowing, golfing, or volunteering to fuel hope and to support life-saving cancer research and patient and family support services at Dartmouth Cancer Center. Northern New England’s largest family-friendly fundraising event will take place on July 12, 2025 and additional dates. Hope starts HERE. For more details and to register, visit www.theprouty.org.
Beginning this fall, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is launching curriculum for medical students about the role artificial intelligence might play in their future clinical work. Professors, students, and the Dean of Educational Affairs, Sonia Chimienti, MD, are working together to develop the curriculum, which will help students learn the impact and the potential ethical challenges with the integration of AI and data science in the healthcare ecosystem.
DHART helicopters fly over Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.