Circles of Care Fall Winter 2021/2022 Newsletter Vol.28 No.2
Generous gift to Harbor Palliative Care honors our beloved
(l to r) Dr. Mulder, Dr. Harriman, and Dr. Wright
Dr. Leonard Wright
From the time he was young, Leonard Wright had his heart set on being a doctor. After he earned his medical degree, he dedicated his life to healing people, and was, by all accounts, a visionary and much-loved man. Len began his career as an emergency department physician and loved the excitement and vibrancy of that work. But a sudden cancer diagnosis and the prognosis that he likely had less than a year to live caused him to change course. He followed through on the traditional treatment that was advised but also embraced a more holistic approach to his health and healing. “He ate a lot of miso soup,” remembers his sister Cheryl, “and he lived and practiced another 28 years!” During the last 20 years of his career, Len focused on providing hospice care. He also was a cheerleader for palliative care and became board certified in it when the concept was still very new. He was delighted when Hospice of MuskegonOceana, now Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care, brought him on board in 2000 as the organization’s first staff medical director, and he became a pioneer in palliative care. Sadly, Len died in 2017 when he was only 62. Still, says Cheryl, “He embraced his entire life experience right up to the end. To be around Len was to know peace. He had lived a lot and gave so much to so many.” When Len’s family wanted to support the mission of a non-profit organization by making a gift in Len’s name from their donor-advised fund, they asked for guidance from Len’s wife, Rita. That led to a conversation between Cheryl and Ammy Seymour, Harbor Hospice Foundation’s director of development.
Dr. Wright at Harbor Hospice
Cheryl (sister) and Len
By Susan Newhof
Len Wright was a gifted physician and practitioner of holistic medicine. He loved working with patients and he loved to teach. He taught patients about self-care and explored with clinicians alternative and complementary ways to offer relief, support and comfort. I think his own journey with a life-threatening illness over many years added to his abundant sensitivity and compassion. Mary Anne Gorman, Executive Director Harbor Hospice and Palliative Care 1989–2016
“I knew exactly how a gift in Len’s name could be used to honor his work,” recalls Ammy. “Len always felt that having us offer palliative care would be a great benefit to West Michigan residents. He was right! And funding to support this program is essential.” “This gift translates to being able to make palliative care available to every patient in our region who needs it in the next year,” explains Gerald Harriman, DO, medical director for Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care. “Of all the services we provide to our palliative care patients, approximately 25 percent are not billable — we receive no funding for them. And that means the program rarely
Lynn (sister), Len and Cheryl
Family photo
supports itself financially. But we provide those services anyway because we know they are essential to our patients’ wellbeing. This amazing gift will help sustain the palliative care program and the entire team we wrap around our patients.” “We were excited to find the right fit,” says Cheryl, “and to support a program that matched what Len was passionate about.” This calendar year, Harbor Palliative Care doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and social workers will make approximately 1,000 visits in person or virtually to palliative care patients. We are enormously grateful to Len for his life’s work, and to his family for this generous, far-reaching way they chose to honor him.
Family photo