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A $1.5 million gift from Jane and F. Chandler Coddington of New Providence has helped lift Overlook Hospital Foundation’s Next Century of Healing Campaign beyond its $100 million goal in an effort to bring distinctive expertise, technology, and medical leaders to the hospital.
In recognition of the gift and the Coddington family’s long involvement at Overlook, the hospital will name its recently renovated seventh floor as the Jane W. and F. Chandler Coddington Jr. Patient Care Unit.
“We’re thrilled with this vote of confidence in Overlook’s vision for service to our area,” said Alan Lieber, the hospital’s president and vice president of Overlook’s nonprofit parent, Atlantic Health. “Chan’s mother and the people she mobilized helped restore Overlook to prominence after World War II, and she later helped to found our chaplaincy program. Jane and Chan have volunteered their time as well, so they know what Overlook can do for families and patients in need. We’re deeply grateful for their involvement and generosity.”
Mr. Coddington’s mother, Clarissa, received a volunteer achievement award from the foundation in 1978 and was a trustee of the hospital in the 1950s. Mr. Coddington, who was born at Overlook, served six years as a foundation trustee in the 1980s and sits as a public member of the board’s corporations and foundations committee. Jane Coddington was a member of the Overlook Auxiliary and volunteered for 12 years in the hospice program. The couple has supported every major Overlook fundraising effort of the last 40 years, often with gifts structured to coordinate with their retirement and estate planning.
“We’re backing our gift with a special trust that will increase our retirement income and with provisions in our wills, so the foundation will receive the full amount of our gift no matter what happens,” said Mr. Coddington, a retired insurance executive. “We’re thrilled to help the foundation meet its goal because the hospital has been a big part of our lives for practically as long as I can remember. Jane and I have been delighted to watch the hospital’s transformation and to meet national leaders, such as Dr. Roger Kurlan in Parkinson’s disease, who’ve made Overlook their home. It’s exciting to think we have world-class care close by.”