PeaceHealth’s Columbia Network
Your inspiring impact
You make a life-saving difference At the end of October, local radio station, KUKN, held a radiothon that raised nearly $10,000 to support the PeaceHealth St. John Kearney Breast Center. During the event, Kerry Farnham shared her story as a breast cancer survivor, saying, “What saved me was the early detection that I got because of the breast center. Because of the mammogram machines that they have, I was able to be diagnosed at an earlier stage.”
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Having PeaceHealth St. John here in our community made the difference between life and death for me.” — Bryce, grateful patient at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center
This fundraising event, along with your generous gifts, helps provide the latest technology to detect and treat cancer in its earliest stages, giving patients like Kerry a better chance before the disease spreads. Thank you for making a life-saving difference in our community. It’s important to note that PeaceHealth St. John is the only local provider of radiation oncology treatments for Cowlitz, Columbia and Wahkiakum Counties. continued on inside page
Your inspiring impact
John found the best cancer care close to home Every day, thanks to philanthropy, patients across PeaceHealth are receiving the cancer care they need. For over a month, John’s sore throat grew worse by the day. He soon discovered that he had throat cancer. “When you get that kind of diagnosis, it’s heart stopping almost,” confides John. “My wife and I discussed it and decided to [pursue treatment] with PeaceHealth. I’ve had no regrets.” John readily admits that, at first, he didn’t expect to receive such a high level of care at PeaceHealth St. John, because Longview is such a small town. But that feeling quickly subsided: “If you’re going to have someone take care of you, this staff is as good as it gets.”
continued from front page Through your philanthropic support, our Cancer Center offers disease prevention and early diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and end-of-life care. To further our exceptional cancer care, we are excited to pursue the purchase of a new linear accelerator, the Varian True-Beam. Considered one of the most advanced cancer therapies available today, this leading-edge technology means more personalized treatment, bringing greater hope and healing to those we serve. Every day, philanthropy powers innovation and saves lives, thank you.
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Patients receive daily cancer treatment with
the current linear accelerator.
Creating lasting change through legacy giving
Kathy Corwin, PeaceHealth donor and volunteer
It takes the will of many to uplift the lives of others. Just ask Kathy Corwin. Not only has she made a significant gift of her estate to PeaceHealth, she also donates her time to our Volunteer Services. As Kathy says, “Giving back to the community and helping take care of everyone is important.”
Her connection with PeaceHealth began with the compassionate care her late husband, Kyle, received as one of our patients. Upon returning home, Kyle said he would like to do something nice for the nurses who gave him such great care. This inspired Kathy to make a lasting gift in support of the incredible nurses who expertly cared for her husband and continue to care for our community still. Through her legacy gift and volunteering, Kathy hopes to make a life-changing difference now and far into the future. We’re grateful for you Kathy, and for all of our legacy donors, whose commitment to our community means brighter days ahead for many years to come.
YOUR INSPIRING IMPACT, OUR ENDURING GRATITUDE
Reimagining a healthier future, together We have great news! PeaceHealth Southwest’s Healthcare Reimagined Campaign, the largest fundraising campaign in southwest Washington’s history, is taking exciting form, thanks to you. In July 2024, we completed Phase I of the new state-of-the-art Emergency Department (ED), designed to revolutionize the way we care for our community. With the completion of Phase I, we continue to operate in a space with limited patient rooms. The number of treatment spaces will not expand until Phase II is finished, allowing us to utilize the full ED and open the Observation Unit. Our outdoor areas have also seen significant improvements with increased accessibility through 72 new parking spaces. Additionally, pocket gardens, walking paths and an outdoor courtyard offer comforting places of respite. A central component of PeaceHealth Southwest’s Healthcare Reimagined Campaign is our recently unveiled Community Health Hub. In partnership with local community organizations focused on delivering non-medical services that impact a person’s overall health, this innovative effort connects trusted social service providers with patients who are seeking support for food insecurity, lack of stable housing, domestic abuse or other barriers to their overall well-being. Our generous donors are behind it all, thank you!
Healthier hearts, because of you Through your ongoing generosity, exciting advancements are happening at PeaceHealth Southwest to better serve the growing number of patients coming into our Emergency Department with cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack and more. Currently, 15% of our Emergency Department patients are seeking our care for complex heart issues, including an increasing number of young patients requiring heart surgery due to life-threating health concerns such as drug overdoses. In response, we’re expanding our cardiovascular expertise with the recent addition of two new specialists to our team: Dr. Patrick Ters, a cardiologist specializing in interventional and structural heart disease, and Dr. Julia Swanson, a cardiothoracic surgeon. Together, with your help, we’re improving heart care — and building a healthier Clark County for us all.
Caring for those who care for us Leslie Clements, system director of Palliative Care at PeaceHealth Southwest, is no stranger to the challenges and dynamics of patient care, having spent countless hours in medical settings over the last 20 years. When she experienced a medical emergency last month, Leslie was blown away by the excellent care she received at PeaceHealth Southwest’s Emergency Department (ED). After experiencing severe abdominal pain, Leslie checked into our Emergency Department. While in triage describing her symptoms, ED physician Daniel Hubbard, overheard the details and immediately reacted. “He knew the emergency nature of it,” Leslie shares, “and he explained calmly to me what needed to be done. He acknowledged it was a very painful condition and said, ‘I’ll get you taken care of.’” Thanks to your support of our Healthcare Reimagined Campaign, we are reimagining care in incredible ways and developing our ED to elevate critical life-saving services for more patients right here at home. Our new ED will be more than double in size and have an increased number of exam rooms so we can treat more patients more quickly when every moment matters. We couldn’t do this work without you!
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“The staff were respectful and responsible, informing me every step of what was going on and what was to come, as well as asking what my needs were. Which helps me have confidence in the entire process.” — Grateful patient visiting PeaceHealth’s Emergency Department
You fuel expert care for all!
PeaceHealth happenings
You are a part of an award-winning network at PeaceHealth. With the help of generous donors like you, we can meet each patient’s needs throughout their healthcare journey, whether physical, emotional, financial or spiritual. Your charitable support is what makes these services possible to add strength and comfort for our patients when they need it most.
GivingTuesday is a day to celebrate the incredible power of philanthropy — your power — to make a difference in the world. This year, PeaceHealth had a recordbreaking year raising more than ever across our organization. At PeaceHealth St. John we celebrated over $16,800 in giving including a match by Diamond Showcase. Thank you for partnering with us in this important lifechanging work!
> PeaceHealth St. John was one of three hospitals in Washington to receive the Silver Beacon Award for a top-notch intensive care unit from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. > PeaceHealth St. John and PeaceHealth Southwest were highlighted in Becker’s Hospital Review’s article on hospitals with unplanned readmission rates of 12.9 compared to the national average rate of 14.6.
> Newsweek named PeaceHealth Southwest as one of the top 12 of America’s best ambulatory surgery centers of 2025. Also, for the ninth consecutive time, PeaceHealth Southwest was awarded an A grade by the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for delivering safe, quality healthcare. > PeaceHealth Foundations received the overall high performer and health system high performer national awards for the second consecutive year for outstanding fundraising from the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.
New staff joined PeaceHealth: > Seasoned congregation and healthcare leader, Sheila Lemieux, CSJP, joins the system board of directors at PeaceHealth. > Melissa Edwards, MD, was appointed to chief executive of PeaceHealth Medical Group. Celebrating the annual Peacehealth St. John gala and auction’s success! We are thrilled to share that our PeaceHealth St. John Foundation’s annual fundraising gala and auction in December raised a record-breaking $505,000. These funds will be used to enhance patient services, programs and state-of-the-art technology. Your support makes this care possible. Thank you.
Karen Santangelo, CFRE Chief Philanthropy Officer, PeaceHealth Columbia Network ksantangelo@peacehealth.org | (360) 514-3670