Donor family pays tribute to breast cancer specialist, Ellen Mahoney, MD
Ellen Mahoney, MD, was recently honored by a donor family for her dedication and contributions to the health and well-being of the community. Dr. Mahoney, medical director of the St. Joseph Hospital Cancer Program, has been working in Humboldt County as a renowned breast cancer specialist and surgeon for 22 years and has positively impacted the lives of thousands of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Long-time Humboldt County residents, Chalmers and Virginia Crichton were active in supporting positive community activities. Upon their deaths, their children established the Crichton Family Fund with Humboldt Area Foundation to continue with their legacy of giving. The Fund was active for several decades and is currently winding down. The surviving family members have chosen to end the fund by creating The Dr. Ellen Mahoney “Garden of Hope” as an instrument to support her vision of a center for cancer patients to find hope, solace and healing.
Connected to the chemotherapy suites at St. Joseph Hospital, the Garden of Hope pays tribute to Dr. Mahoney’s commitment to her patients and honors the legacy of Chalmers and Virginia’s Crichton’s service to the community. Marge Crichton, daughter-in-law of Chalmers and Virginia shared that, “Dr. Mahoney has been such an incredible advocate for women’s health, and making this gift fulfilled the Crichton Family and Dr. Mahoney’s mutual desire to ensure women are able to stay close to home and still receive world class care in Humboldt County.”
"I’m deeply grateful to the Crichton family for the gift of this garden. It’s so important to patients and cancer program staff,” said Dr. Mahoney. “The lovely events of a very memorable day allowed me the opportunity to highlight the excellence, empathy and compassion of this amazing staff who come to work each day with full hearts, prepared to deliver excellent care for our community. They are the ones who make this innovative program capable of giving state-of-the-art care, sometimes under difficult circumstances. It’s an honor to be recognized by the Crichton family who bring generations of service to our community. Like the Cancer Program staff, they exemplify the very best on our North Coast."
