One Couple’s Connection to St. Luke’s Inspires an Extraordinary Gift

Easton residents Anthony (Tony) and Adrienne DaRe recently pledged $1 million to St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN). Half of the gift from the DaRes will support the expansion of community access to high-quality birthing, postpartum, and newborn services, including neonatal intensive care at St. Luke’s Allentown. Ground was broken in November to begin construction of the 85,000-square-foot Women & Babies Tower that will house these services.

Thanks to the DaRes’ generosity, this new facility will help ensure that patients at the St. Luke’s Allentown Campus have access to a brand-new facility, new services and an increased level of care that allows babies to remain in their own community with their families,” said Elizabeth Dierking, MD, Vice Chair, St. Luke’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director of the St. Luke’s OB/GYN Residency Program.

The remaining $500,000 will create scholarships for students at Temple/St. Luke’s Medical School, which remains the region’s first and only medical school. Temple/St. Luke’s graduates 40 new physicians each year, many of whom remain local to take care of patients in the community.

A gift of this magnitude during a critical national physician shortage will make a tremendous impact on St. Luke’s ability to prepare new doctors to care of our ever-growing aging population,” said Shaden Eldakar-Hein, Senior Associate Dean of the Medical School.

This year, St. Luke’s is celebrating its 150th anniversary of serving the health needs of the region, which began with the founding of the St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill, and the DaRes decided to make this personal investment to ensure that St. Luke’s is able to provide world class healthcare to our community for another 150 years.

“It is with a tremendous amount of pride and humility that Adrienne and I are making this investment in our community,” said Tony.

Two of the couple’s children were born at St. Luke’s, and their daughter, Adele received critical, compassionate care at St. Luke’s for a significant medical emergency when she was only three years old. “The amazing doctors and nurses at St. Luke’s were there for her in a heartbeat,” said the DaRes.

The DaRe family’s connection to St. Luke’s dates back more than a century. “St. Luke’s has cared for our loved ones over the last four generations,” the couple said.

“My family settled in the City of Allentown over 100 years ago,” explained Tony. “St. Luke’s continues to be the heart of our community, providing personalized care for so many and educating the next generation of world-class doctors. We are honored to support this extraordinary health system as it continues to make the region a better place to live, learn, work, and enjoy life.”

Philanthropy comes in all sizes, but whether you choose to make cash gifts today or through a future planned gift, in the end, all gifts make a tremendous impact on the future of health care for our community.