One of the things we’re known for across our state is the high level of medical care we have available to us. People’s lives are saved every day from our hospitals and medical facilities. But not everyone who receives that care decides to make it their life’s mission to help others. That’s exactly what one Central New York man has been doing sine his life was saved by doctors at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse.

“In 2004, I was diagnosed with Leukemia - AML, a very nasty case of it, and I was given two months to live unless I started Chemotherapy right away," Bill Pomeroy, founder of William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

Pomeroy learned that a successful stem cell transplant could increase his chances of living.

"There were many, many donors available and I was lucky that I had one that was a perfect match," Pomeroy said.

Thanks to his late wife Sandra, who cared for him through recovery, and the team at Crouse, he was not only able to live but have a new defined purpose - The William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

"We learned that half of the people that go searching for a donor on the registry, they don’t find a match," Pomeroy said.

One of the foundation’s initiatives is diversifying the bone marrow donor registry so that anyone, from any ethnic background, can find a matched donor.

"Technologies have changed and now we’re trying to find our next mission for our For Life Side," Pomeroy said.

Pomeroy also knew officials at Crouse were looking for more space to increase the reach of their health care. Crouse tried to merge with Upstate Hospital but that deal fell through in February last year.

"The Upstate University and Crouse merger was called off. I thought, 'wow, this is kind of pretty good. We get our hospital back'," Pomeroy said.

That’s when Pomeroy decided to donate a property that he owned to Crouse in his wife’s memory - a 66,000 square foot building with an estimated property value of more than $11 million.

"What excites me is that now I have an opportunity to honor Sandra with the donation of the building, I have the ability to fast track Crouse Health into establishing another health center," Pomeroy said.

He only hopes that people can have the experience he did and be left with positive memories.

"Now, the Crouse Center is a place of healing," Pomeroy said.