A doctor’s generosity elevates emergency care to honor his son.
As kids we’re all told the sky is the limit. For Connor Gamma, the sky was a door to endless possibilities.
“Connor was fascinated with birds and their ability to soar. He could identify dozens of bird species, simply by their pattern of flight and calls,” remembered his dad, Brett Gamma, MD, an emergency physician at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center.
Before long, Connor started flying remote controlled airplanes and visiting airports with his family to watch planes take off and land. Connor quickly knew that he wanted to become a pilot. He attended the JROTC flight program in high school and took his first solo flight at age 16.
“He found his calling among the clouds,” Dr. Gamma said.
Connor’s future in flying ended in 2021, but a fitting tribute was recently dedicated in his memory: the rooftop helipad on the new tower at Shady Grove Medical Center. In August, friends and family gathered to celebrate as the hospital put the sky-high care space into service, the first piece of its new tower to care for patients. The remainder of the building is expected to open in mid-2026.
From the moment the Gamma family stepped onto the helipad platform, they knew it was a sacred place where Connor’s life would best be represented.
“This is where he will be, touching each patient as they arrive or as they leave,” said Dr. Gamma, who serves as the hospital’s associate vice president of Physician Outcomes and Quality.
As an emergency physician, Dr. Gamma knows that for a busy community hospital, a helipad is a gateway to critical care access when minutes matter.
“The new tower is a magnificent beacon of hope, highlighting a state-of-the-art hospital that is an absolute must for the residents of Montgomery County,” he said.
Shady Grove’s Emergency Department has treated millions of patients during Dr. Gamma’s 28-year tenure. Decades ago, he saw its care spaces designed to address healthcare needs of the time. Now, Dr. Gamma said, the new tower’s “modern advances in design will match the compassionate and high-quality care that patients receive.” Patients will benefit from upgrades for today’s care standards, like roomier private treatment rooms, more sun-filled spaces to promote faster healing, modern materials that simplify infection prevention and critical care services repositioned for speed and efficiency.
Dr. Gamma noted his donation to the helipad is one of many gifts that caregivers at Shady Grove have made to help upgrade the hospital.
“Working in a hospital and healthcare in general is a team sport. Most of the care for our patients begins in the emergency room, where I’ve been fortunate to work alongside exceptional physicians and nurses,” Dr. Gamma said. “We support the hospital because we believe in it.”
That belief, he says, drives a culture where quality shines from the inside out.
Learn more about the new tower at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center and how you can support its care teams.
