Hartford, Conn.—The stars shined bright at The Bushnell during this year’s Black & Red, but a respected, mainstay physician who has served the community for decades shined the brightest when Andrew L. Salner, MD, FACR, FASTRO was recognized as Hartford Hospital’s first-ever recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award.Dr. Salner, a practicing 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 & Hartford Region, SVP, Hartford HealthCare, during Hartford Hospital’s annual Back & Red gala on Saturday, April 22.“Dr. Andrew Salner truly embodies the best of medicine and Hartford Hospital,” said Patel. “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 the Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Hartford Hospital, a position he held for 34 years. He was later named Director of the Hospital’s Cancer Program in 1991.Now serving as Medical Director of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at Hartford Hospital and the Ned C. and Janet C. Rice Chair of the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center, he helped build Hartford Hospital into one of the top hospitals in the country for cancer treatment.He serves on numerous hospital, regional, and national committees, including the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Connecticut Cancer Partnership, the American Cancer Society, and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). In service to the state of Connecticut, he sits on the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund Board and the CT Medical Marijuana Program Advisory Board.In addition to Dr. Salner, the event also recognized 25 Hartford Hospital Heroes, who were 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 raised will help support ongoing research and access to more prevention and detection programs for patients and their families.Lynn B. Rossini, vice president of Philanthropy, Hartford Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital said, “We are grateful for the leadership of Black & Red’s honorary event chairs, Sheila and Doug Elliot; and 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.