Hannah-Lee Stokes’ history of generosity to Bassett and her dedication to the Cooperstown community are renowned, Bassett officials say.

In the summer of 1994, Stokes contributed $600,000 to the Friends of Bassett to build the Hannah-Lee House and make a home-away-from-home for patients and family members. According to a press release sent by Bassett officials, Mrs. Stokes made the gift to express her gratitude for being treated at Bassett. She believed that when a patient or a loved one is receiving hospital care, there is enough stress without the added time and expense of commuting back and forth to the hospital.

``The creation of this facility is something I have dreamed about for many years. My whole heart has been in this project from the very moment I first thought about it,’’ said Strokes at the facility’s dedication. ``This service is so necessary, and I am just thrilled to be able to help provide it for Bassett patients and their families.’’

Stokes’ legacy will now extend to helping Bassett make a medical school program a reality. The end product will be the presence of ``Bassett track’’ medical students on the Cooperstown campus.

According to the release, students will study at Bassett for the final two years of their training, with the initial two years of their program spent on the campus of Bassett’s medical school partner, which is yet to be announced.

Over a three-year development phase, Bassett will work with the accrediting agency, the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) of the American Medical Association, and the Association of American Medical Colleges. Leading the effort is Dr. Laura Schweitzer, who already is onboard as Bassett’s first chief academic officer, and Dr. Henry F. Weil, co-director of the Medical School Campus Initiative.

Dr. Schweitzer said she is excited to be a part of the creation of a new medical school campus at Bassett.

`` My position as Bassett’s Chief Academic Officer is a wonderful challenge and takes advantage of my background in student and faculty affairs, program development, as well as my experience as Dean of Medicine at the University of Louisville and as Vice President for Academic Affairs at SUNY Upstate Medical Center and Vice Provost/ Health Liaison at Syracuse University,’’ said Dr. Schweitzer.

The medical school program has been a gradual transition, according to Dr. Schweitzer. She said Bassett currently has about 18 medical students who come to do a four to eight week medical rotation and then go back to their ``parent’’ school. However, Schweitzer said eventually students participating in the new medical school program will replace the rotational students, and will be there on a full-time basis for the last two years of their training.

``We are not anticipating a large increase in students in Cooperstown,’’ Schweitzer said. ``We may still have some rotational students, but essentially this new program will replace the old one.’’

Schweitzer said Bassett already has two students, a husband and wife, who are spending their entire third year at Bassett. By next year, Schweitzer said she expects to have six students full-time at Bassett, and hopes to have the full program up and running in three years.

There is no actual opening date set for the new medical program.

``We would like to see completion of the project and have it fully launched over the next three years, which coincides with the Hannah-Lee Strokes pilot funding term,’’ Schweitzer said.

According to Schweitzer, the grant of $1.3 million is start up funding for the medical school program, and will be used to cover costs in determining a curriculum for the program that will be uniquely Bassett’s and to determine the building blocks that are needed to effectively put the program together. She said once the program is underway, most costs will be covered by tuition revenues via the parent medical school campus.

`` Additional fundraising may be necessary at a certain point,’’ said Schweitzer. ``And this may be done through Bassett’s alumni, an extraordinarily dedicated physician group who are eager to offer Bassett as a training site for future physicians, especially in light of the physician supply concerns, or through other fund-raising means.’’

Grant opportunities will be sought as well, said Schweitzer.

``There are federal and state monies available to support rural medical education because there is such a workforce shortage/ crisis in rural America,’’ said Schweitzer. ``Programs like the one at Bassett are specifically designed to address this need.’’

Bassett officials said that, through its established medical education program, Bassett plays a leading role in developing the skilled professionals on whom the region and nation depend.

Many of the physicians who complete their residencies at Bassett choose to remain and practice medicine in the region, contributing more to the quality of life within our communities, according to Bassett officials. Officials also said there are currently over 50 Bassett medical alumni, graduates of its training programs, who are on staff at Bassett.

A visionary gift of this magnitude from the Stokes Charitable Trust will significantly benefit Stokes’ beloved Cooperstown community as well as the surrounding area, said Dr. William F. Streck, Bassett president and chief executive.

``The education of new physicians, many of whom will settle here, raise their families and participate in community life, will enhance our regional communities for generations,’’ said Dr. Streck.

Dr. Henry Weil, who also was a family friend, said Strokes’ gift towards Bassett’s new, innovative medical education program is a ``posthumous blessing’’ from her to Bassett and to Cooperstown.

``Over several decades, she was a close friend to many of Bassett’s visionary leaders, including doctors George Miner Mackenzie, James Bordley, III, E. Donnall Thomas, John Olson and William F. Streck,’’ said Weil.

``She (Stokes) believed that the future of our community and the region was inextricably tied to a strong Bassett. Staying true to her quiet philanthropy, Hannah-Lee chose to not have her legacy unveiled until after she passed away. Her magnanimous gift in support of the medical school concept will take Bassett to another level that will benefit the community in a multitude of direct and indirect ways, far into the future,’’ added Dr. Weil.

Scott A. Barrett, executive director of the Friends of Bassett, said he believes a gift of this magnitude will create visibility for the future medical school program and enable Bassett to gain support from other sources.

``Effectively, the Stokes Charitable Trust grant is seed money, opening a broad spectrum of giving opportunities, both private and public,’’ Barrett said.

Mrs. Stokes passed away in 2001.