Cliffs pledges quarter million to Marquette General Health Systems’ Accelerating The Future campaign

Cancer care is something that Marquette General Hospital takes very seriously, which is why they started the Accelerating the Future campaign in order to bring in enough funds to purchase state-of-the-art technology for use in treatments.

Cliffs Natural Resources, which owns and operates the Tilden and Empire mines in Marquette County, also recognizes the seriousness of cancer care, which is why the company has pledged $250,000 to the fund-raising effort.

The money will be used toward the purchase of a linear accelerator, which produces a radiation beam that helps treat cancer.

“Cancer and cancer treatment affects nearly everyone either directly or through a loved one,” says Dale Hemmila, Cliffs’ director of public affairs. “The residents in the local communities where we operate are important stakeholders of the Company and as part of our sustainability commitments we continue to support organizations that make these communities a better place to live for everyone. Certainly, an enhanced medical care opportunity such as this helps to accomplish that goal.”

This pledge moves the Accelerating the Future capital campaign to approximately $3 million toward a $4 million goal.

The enhanced capabilities of a new Truebeam accelerator will be especially useful for treatment of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers. These are the cancers treated most commonly at Marquette General Hospital.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Dale Hemmila, Cliffs Natural Resources