The stars shone brightly at The Bushnell during Hartford Hospital’s annual Black & Red gala this year, but a respected physician who has served the community for decades shone brightest.
Andrew L. Salner, MD, FACR, FASTRO, was recognized as Hartford Hospital’s first-ever recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Salner, a radiation oncologist and medical director of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at Hartford Hospital and its Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center, was presented with the honor by Jeffrey A. Flaks, president & CEO of Hartford HealthCare, and Bimal Patel, president, Hartford Hospital and senior vice president, Hartford HealthCare, during the gala on Saturday, April 22.
“Dr. Andrew Salner truly embodies the best of medicine and Hartford Hospital,” Patel said. “He has been a remarkable colleague and mentor to so many, as well as one of our hospital’s strongest pillars and advocates. It’s the right time—and he’s the right person—to be the first to receive this distinguished honor. On behalf of all of his Hartford Hospital colleagues, we congratulate and thank Dr. Salner for his lifetime of achievement and service.”
Dr. Salner has dedicated his distinguished career to serving patients and their families, performing groundbreaking research, and—most importantly—leading the fight against cancer from his longtime home base at Hartford Hospital. A graduate of Brown University, he began his postdoctoral training at Hartford Hospital in 1976. In 1982 he was named medical director of radiation oncology, a position he held for 34 years. He was later named director of the hospital’s cancer program in 1991.
Now medical director of the Cancer Institute at Hartford Hospital and Ned C. and Janet C. Rice Chair of the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center, he helped build the hospital into one of the top centers in the country for cancer treatment.
He serves on numerous hospital, regional and national committees, including the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Connecticut Cancer Partnership, American Cancer Society, and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). In service to the state, he sits on the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund Board and the Connecticut Medical Marijuana Program Advisory Board.
In addition to Dr. Salner, the event also recognized 25 Hartford Hospital Heroes nominated by their peers for going above and beyond the call of duty.
This year’s Black & Red raised $2.5 million—a Black & Red fundraising record—for the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at Hartford Hospital and its Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center. The funds will support ongoing research and access to prevention and detection programs for patients and families.
Lynn B. Rossini, vice president of philanthropy and Hartford and Charlotte Hungerford hospitals, said, “We are grateful for the leadership of Black & Red’s honorary event chairs, Sheila and Doug Elliot; our committee co-chairs, Mayor Shari and Michael Cantor and Alexia Cruz and Jon Brighthaupt; and our dedicated volunteers who care deeply about providing access to cancer prevention and treatment to the greater Hartford region. Their dedication to Hartford Hospital will enable us to care for the whole person and meet them where they are so that life during treatment and after cancer continues to be rich and rewarding.”
Alternative rock legends the Goo Goo Dolls provided the evening’s musical entertainment. Black & Red has raised nearly $30 million for Hartford Hospital and community programs and services since 1992.
