Dr. Harrison Alexander, a Derry dentist, died during the Great Depression leaving money and land to the Town of Derry for the purpose of creating a community hospital. In 1930, a group of public-spirited citizens organized the Alexander Hospital Corporation as a non-profit corporation under the laws of New Hampshire. The Alexander Hospital Corporation became Trustee of Dr. Alexander's will, and began the effort toward a community hospital.
In 1933 Mrs. Charles Hood donated her ancestral home (built by her grandfather, Benjamin Eastman) to the community hospital effort. At that time, the Alexander Hospital Corporation began doing business as the Alexander Eastman Hospital.
In 1934 The Alexander Eastman Hospital opened to serve the Derry community, operating as a community hospital for 48 years. Funding for hospital equipment was largely supported by the use of funds from the Dr. Alexander trust and by other community donations.
In the 1960s the community identified the need to expand and upgrade the hospital. The town of Derry donated Dr. Alexander's land for a new hospital site. The Alexander Eastman Hospital undertook a building fund drive in the towns of Derry, Londonderry, Windham, Chester and Sandown, and constructed a new 37 bed hospital on Birch Street in Derry.
In 1983, The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), a national corporation, acquired the Alexander Eastman Hospital. The Alexander Eastman Foundation amended and restated its charter to allow the hospital to be sold, renamed and expanded as Parkland Medical Center.
The proceeds of the sale of the Alexander Eastman Hospital, in addition to accumulated gifts and bequests of individuals and businesses whose earlier support demonstrated their interest in the health care needs of the community, are now held as charitable assets by the Alexander Eastman Foundation in order to benefit residents in the communities from which patients of the Alexander Eastman Hospital were drawn.
In operating the Foundation, trustees are guided by the concerns which motivated these donors and the founders of the Alexander Eastman Hospital. Grants and scholarship assistance are provided to promote good health and well-being for residents of the greater Derry area and to improve the quality and availability of health care in the community.
Community Incorporators
The Foundation has a membership
of up to 100 incorporators who work and/or reside in the greater Derry area.
Incorporators are volunteers who bring interesting community health projects to
the attention of the Foundation and gather annually to meet grantees and learn
about health care issues and policy in New Hampshire.
If you are interested in volunteering as an Incorporator, please contact the board chair (see Contact Us).
Board of Trustees
A board of up to twelve trustees is
elected by the Incorporators and has responsibility for the management of the
foundation and for decisions on grant and loan assistance. The 2013-2014
Trustees are:
John Patrick Ahern
Ahern, Nichols, Ahern & Hersey Family and Preventative Dentistry, Derry
Resident of LondonderryMichael Buckley
Buckley Express LLC, Derry
Resident of DerrySharyn Findlay
Parkland Medical Center, Derry
Resident of Windham
Cynthia Gray
Elliot Health Systems, Manchester
Resident of Derry
Angela Kouroyen
SPED Solutions, LLC, Derry
Resident of Derry
William Lonergan
Pinkerton Academy, Derry
Resident of Chester
Angela Loring
Anthem, Manchester
Resident of Chester
Bob McDonald
Sovereign Bank, Nashua
Resident of Londonderry
Earle Rosse
Centrix Bank, Bedford
Resident of Londonderry
Rebecca Rutter
Law Office of Rebecca J. Rutter, Derry
Resident of Derry
Larry VanDeventer
VanDeventer & Company, Windham
Resident of Windham
Dr. Wayne White
Women's Health Associates, Derry
Resident of Sandown
Foundation Annual Report
Click here to see a copy of the foundation's Annual Report
Foundation Administration
Full Circle Consulting provides grant review and administration services to the Alexander Eastman Foundation. For more information about Full Circle Consulting go to www.fullcirclenh.com.
Foundation Financials
To view and download the Trust's Return of Private Foundation, 990-PF, please go to www.guidestar.org.
The New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General Charitable Trust Unit maintains a directory of all New Hampshire charitable trusts including information about their assets, program purpose and restrictions, and distribution policies. To view this resource go to http://www.doj.nh.gov/publications/directory-main.html.
