SPIRIT OF GIVING THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CHRISTUS SPOHN HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION | JUNE 2017
CHRISTUS SPOHN LYCEUM: Thank you, Steve Wozniak, and all of our wonderful benefactors.
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., helped to raise funds for the new Level II Trauma Center.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
THANK YOU, DONORS: See photos from the 29th annual Lyceum RAJU BHAGAT: Honoring a family legacy and helping others
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29th Annual CHRISTUS Spohn Lyceum
‘The Woz’ takes the stage Clockwise, from top: Steve Wozniak, Dominic Dominguez and Bill Chriss Jerry and Elizabeth Susser Sister Teresa Stanley and Judy and Bill Colston Jr. Amy and Justin Doss and Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey Drs. Osbert Blow and Nelly Garcia-Blow and Sister Margaret Mannion
Clockwise, from top: Steve Wozniak and Bill Chriss Mimi Zoch, Ford Smith, Jen Vogt and Tom Carlisle Dr. Drake Beauchamp and Nancy Beauchamp Tom and Diane Gates Leslie and Chris McClanahan and Justin Doss
Proceeds from the 29th annual CHRISTUS Spohn Lyceum will go toward funding the new Level II Trauma Center at the Shoreline campus. The Trauma Center is the only facility of its kind in South Texas, serving the residents of 12 counties.
To see more photos from the 2017 Lyceum, visit ChristusSpohnFoundation.org
Your support is vital to our success
I hope you had the pleasure of attending the annual CHRISTUS Spohn Lyceum in April at the American Bank Center with keynote speaker Steve Wozniak. I would like to thank our sponsors and guests for your exceptional support of CHRISTUS Spohn and your generosity toward our signature fundraiser. I also would like to personally recognize our presenting sponsors — American Bank and Borden Insurance. American Bank has been a longstanding champion of Spohn's healing minstry. Thank you. I also want to thank our Black Gold sponsors — The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation; CHRISTUS Health; H-E-B;
Karen Bonner, VP for Philanthropy
Riviera Telephone Company; Kathy and Billy Saul; and Karen and Larry Urban. Everyone at Spohn is very grateful for each and every one of you. Your generous financial support of Lyceum has a direct and lasting impact on Spohn's mission. For example, last year's Lyceum — featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough — helped to fund the new Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center. The Garcia Family Health
Center opened in January and will serve the needs of our entire community, for generations to come. Proceeds from the 2017 Lyceum will benefit the new Level II Trauma Center at the Shoreline campus. The Trauma Center — a separate medical facility verified by the American College of Surgeons — is designated by the State of Texas to deliver highly-specialized timely treatment of severely injured patients. You and your loved ones are in caring hands at Spohn. Our gifted trauma surgeons — with nearly 150 combined years of firsthand expertise — serve our area with incomparable skill. The Coastal Bend’s lead trauma center is responsible for providing life-saving treat-
ment to residents of Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, McMullen, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio counties. Many people are alive today because of our trauma team's skill, focus and compassion, and because they work with the best and most innovative tools to care for those with critical health care emergencies. Our trauma surgeons, nurses, technicians, chaplains and social workers at Spohn truly work as a team. You, our generous benefactors, also are part of our team, helping Spohn continue its commitment to excellence each and every day. Thank you, and God bless you and your family.
New 9th Floor at Shoreline is now open The transformation of health care through CHRISTUS Spohn's Our PATH Forward continues to take shape at the Shoreline campus and we're happy to share the details of our ongoing plans. The new Trauma and Medical Surgical Services Unit on the 9th Floor of the Critical Care Center opened in May, in conjunction with the transition of the Level II Trauma Center from the Memorial campus to the Shoreline campus. In addition, there also is a new Medical Intensivist program, which will provide for 24/7 on-site availability of specialty physicians for those patients in need of critical care.
Shoreline President Brian Connor, Vice President of Operations Wray Borland and Shoreline Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Gentry join members of the Capital Campaign Committee Cabinet and members of the Foundation Board of Directors to make a toast to the completion of the new 9th floor at the Shoreline campus. The new Trauma Stepdown Unit on the 9th floor opened the first week of May, allowing Spohn to maximize technology and resources under one roof.
Visit Facebook.com/ChristusSpohn to see an overview and tour of the new 9th Floor at Shoreline, which houses the new Trauma and Medical Surgical Services Unit.
You make a difference! When you support Spohn, you help provide the best medical care in South Texas through a healing ministry that has been around for more than a century. Showing your support has never been easier!
Get our e-newsletter
Visit our website at ChristusSpohnFoundation.org to subscribe with your email address and see firsthand how your support helps strengthen our mission each and every day.
Make a gift
Giving to Spohn’s health care ministry has never been easier. Visit our website at ChristusSpohnFoundation.org/ Make-A-Gift to learn how you can support us today.
Sponsor an event
Spohn hosts and supports multiple fundraising events, including the South Texas Charity Weekend, Lyceum, Grand Classic and Beeville Ladies Night Out. Funds raised from our generous supporters of these annual events have helped support numerous programs that serve our entire community.
Set up a planned gift
A planned gift allows you to make a more meaningful contribution than you may have thought possible. Your gift today will provide a lasting legacy of health care for South Texans while helping you achieve your own personal and financial goals. For information, contact Linda Arnold at 361-881-3940.
Volunteer your time
Visit ChristusSpohn Foundation.org/Get-Involved/ Volunteer to sign up and to learn more about the program that’s vital to the daily operations of Spohn’s campuses.
Linda Arnold, Director of Development, and Raju Bhagat. Bhagat honored the memory of his late son Vishal by making a generous donation of proceeds from the 10th annual golf tournament named for him.
Honoring a family legacy of making a difference Raju Bhagat has enjoyed immense success in the hotel and tourism industry, but his most devoted calling is honoring the memory of his late son. The Vishal Raju Bhagat Foundation’s mission is to carry forward the fight of juvenile diabetes by granting funds for innovative research, improving education and advocacy within the general public, and improving the lives of children afflicted with diabetes and in need of assistance. It’s a mission that was close to Vishal’s heart, which is why it’s so important to his father as well. “It’s important to give
back to our community of care here in South Texas,” says Raju. “That’s why our Foundation was eager to partner with CHRISTUS Spohn in its effort to curb diabetes.” Vishal, who studied at the University of Texas in Austin, was afflicted with juvenile diabetes (Type I), says Raju. However, it didn’t keep him from pursuing an active life, including establishing the “Sugar Free Bowl,” a flag football game that is now played at multiple campuses with a goal of raising funds to help fight diabetes. After Vishal passed away suddenly in 2006, Raju wanted to continue his
legacy of helping to combat diabetes, a condition that affects so many people in South Texas, regardless of race, gender or income level. That led Raju to begin the annual Vishal Bhagat Memorial Golf Tournament, which benefits charitable endeavors in South Texas. “This past year was our 10th year of putting this event on and it grows larger each year,” says Raju. “It’s a testament to our community here, you know. When we work together, we can do great things. “Those great things begin with education, which is important as we try to fight diabetes at all levels.”
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The CHRISTUS Spohn Foundation hosted the eighth annual Emeritus Directors luncheon in May at the Corpus Christi Yacht Club. The event was hosted by Dominic Dominguez, Nancy Beauchamp and Karen Bonner. Many of the members have supported Spohn’s health care ministry for more than 30 years. Pictured are Dominguez (back, from left), Dan Pedrotti, Elinor Donnell, Lou Adele May, Beauchamp and Bonner; Liz Nisbet (front, from left), Alice Sallee, Maureen Miller and Chela Storm.
Foundation Board of Directors
John P. Jackson Al Jones Linda K. Jordan Nancy Beauchamp, Chair Judy Long Leslie McClanahan, Chair-Elect Meredith Morrill James Pettus, Treasurer Robert Naismith, MD Shawn O’Connor, Secretary Gregg Robertson Elizabeth Susser, At-Large Rick Rogers Carol McLaughlin, At-Large Felix Tapp Keleigh Sasser, Past Chair Richard P. Thomas Hector Villarreal Jordan Anderson Jen Vogt Osbert Blow, MD, Ph.D., FACS Allison Webster Yolanda Canales Bill Colston Jr. Emeritus Members Robert T. Cuevas Frank Armstrong Becky Davis Bettye Baria* Jack T. Dugan II, MD, FAAO Tom Carlisle Regina Garcia Fielding B. Cochran* Thomas “Dos” Gates Jr. Joe Henkel Elinor Donnell
Frank P. Horlock Jr.* Richard King III * Joe Lewis, MD Lou Adele May Maureen Miller Elizabeth Nisbet Daniel Pedrotti Phillip M. Plant Alice Sallee Alan J. Stoner Chela Storm Karen Urban *Deceased Ex-Officio Dominic J. Dominguez, Senior Vice President, Group Operations CHRISTUS Health – South Texas
Foundation Staff Karen Bonner, CFRE, VP for Philanthropy Linda Rider Arnold, Director of Development Veronica Wenzel, RN, Legacy Guest Program Director Patricia Cano, Director of Annual Giving Connie Towery, Database Program Manager Belinda Rocha, Executive Secretary Julie Zuniga, Office Coordinator