Amita St. Joseph Hospital auxiliary donates more than $23,000 to hospital cancer center

The Amita Health St. Joseph Hospital auxiliary recently gave a donation of $23,297.65 to the administrators of the Bob and Edna Meadows Regional Cancer Care Center at the Elgin hospital.

The check was presented at the auxiliary's annual meeting and Christmas luncheon Dec. 17. It represents the proceeds raised by 78th annual fashion show and luncheon, "Fall into Fashion" on Nov. 2 at the Grand Victoria Casino. The fundraiser fashion show features the new trends presented by Chico's at The Arboretum of South Barrington.

The auxiliary designated the Bob and Edna Meadows Regional Cancer Care Center as the recipient to recognize the impact the facility has made on the community since its opening in 2008.

It was the first Elgin-area hospital to offer 64-slice CT scanning, image-guided radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery for cancer diagnosis and treatment. In addition, they recently added the Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator to the suite of treatment options. This state-of-the-art technology can precisely target cancer cells, while minimizing exposure to nearby healthy tissue. The center also offers comprehensive cancer rehabilitation and lymphedema therapy.

Amita Health is a joint operating company formed by AdventHealth in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and St. Louis-based Ascension. Amita Health is the largest health system in Illinois, comprising 19 hospitals and more than 230 sites of care. The health system has 900 providers in its medical groups, more than 26,000 associates and 7,000 physician partners and serves over 6.6 million residents in the greater Chicago area. Visit www.AMITAhealth.org.