Volume 30 | Spring 2022
FACES of HEALTH THE DIFFERENCE YOU’RE MAKING FOR NEIGHBORS IN NEED
Sober & Alive BACK IN CONTROL
An amazing return to sober living Counselors help save lives
Jerel Degnan is lucky and grateful to be alive. While in high school, Jerel started to use methamphetamine. That led him into many years of despair and chemical dependency. At age 28, Jerel suffered a workplace injury and became addicted to doctor-prescribed pain medications. His drinking and drug use accelerated his depression. Heroin use came before everything, including his wife and two daughters.
being pivotal to his recovery. He has learned that recovery requires lifelong effort. Jerel also received unconditional support from his parents. He has never given up.
Today Sandi hopes Jerel will become a peer support for others struggling with addiction.
When he was 33 years old, Jerel was divorced and despondent. He had just been released from jail and was on the tenth day of drug withdrawal with no assistance. Jerel’s thoughts of suicide became all-consuming. He planned how he would kill himself. Jerel knew how high the bridge needed to be. Miraculously, he survived. His injuries included fractures to both legs and feet. He battled chronic bone infections and his lower right leg needed to be amputated. He began medication-assisted treatment for his opioid addiction. Jerel experienced hope again for the first time in decades. However, his new addiction treatment medicine reacted with another prescription and Jerel suffered debilitating psychosis. Two weeks in psychiatric treatment gave his body and mind a reset. Jerel recalls these events from over a decade ago now. He began weekly therapy with Sandi Karr, a licensed addiction counselor at RiverStone Health. He credits Sandi for
With three years of sobriety and a clear vision for his life, Jerel is proud to be in control of his journey again. He is working on his relationships with his daughters and parents. Jerel wants his experiences to bring hope to others struggling with the disease of addiction.
Change is difficult, even when positive. I want to live my best life. My goal is to help others achieve sobriety and get their lives back. Jerel Degnan RiverStone Health Foundation friends sustain our RiverStone Health Clinic behavioral health services, including addiction treatment - saving lives in our community.
To make a gift in support of patients in jeopardy, visit RiverStoneHealth.org/GIVE
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If you are in crisis and want help, contact the Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 24/7 CALL: 1-800-273-TALK or TEXT: “MT” to 741741
We celebrate our volunteers! Volunteers hold up the foundation of civil society. They help their neighbors, serve their communities, and provide their expertise. Our volunteers enhance hospice, dental and medical care, fundraising, emergency and public health services. 215 amazing volunteer friends and board members contributed over 1,450 hours in 2021! How do we quantify this generosity? The value of a volunteer providing an hour of work on Scrub Run Volunteers behalf of a nonprofit is updated annually using hourly earnings released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This amount is $28.54 per hour. In 2021 alone, our volunteers provided work that amounted to a staggering $41,380! We know putting numbers to the collective gift of volunteering cannot do it justice, yet it’s a tangible way to show the contributions our friends have made in the community! RiverStone Health could not achieve its reach without our friends who will be recognized during April’s National Volunteer Week.
Contact RiverStone Health Foundation to learn more about volunteer opportunities.
Your forever gift Today for Tomorrow There are many beautiful outcomes with charitable gifts. Recently our friends have made possible equipment to perform ultrasound testing with work and sports injuries. Supporters have ensured testing for individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Our friends have built the CPR Fund, giving our clients a lifeline when a health emergency occurs. The gift outcomes? Health is stabilized at this moment.
Did you know there’s a forever gift? It’s possible to make a gift which is held intact, nurtured, invested prudently, with time multiplying its original value. A gift to the RiverStone Health Foundation Endowment Fund is about building something that will outlive you and will transform the lives of people you will never meet. Your gift ensures that critically important health programs and services will not be eliminated due to grants which vanish or public funding which decreases. This type of gift has profound outcomes. Since 1997, our state has been offering donors, both individuals and businesses, an above-theline credit on their Montana tax liability when making this type of gift. Every dollar of the Montana Endowment Tax Credit you qualify for is $1 less you will owe.
With YOUR endowed gift we grow together ...
RiverStone Health Foundation friends contributed $94,000 to the Endowment Fund in December 2021. But why wait until the end of the year? You can make a forever gift today and receive this lucrative credit.
9th Annual Westpark Village Plant Sale
Enjoy an incredible golf experience at Laurel Golf Club and make RiverStone Health hospice care available to all in need. Register your team TODAY for this premier tournament with all the amenities.
FRIDAY
June 3rd
RiverStoneHealth.org/GOLF 406.651.6555
Board of Directors Ryan Nordlund – Chair, City Vineyard John Dorr, MD – Vice-Chair, MSU Billings Greg Wing – Treasurer, Retired CFO John Felton – Secretary, RiverStone Health Carol Beam – Rocky Mountain Health Network Dan Carter – ExxonMobil Billings Refinery Drew Hedrick – Century 21 Hometown Brokers David Mitchell – Coldwell Banker Commercial Bill Royer – UBS Financial Services Cindy Woods – Retired Attorney
Foundation Staff Kristie Asay, CFRE – Executive Director Kelly Schrock – Development Coordinator Beth Allen – Development Associate
Benefitting RiverStone Health's Healthcare for the Homeless program, the plant sale funds basic healthcare for those experiencing homelessness. YOU raised over $3,600 last year! Join us again May 6th from 9am - 6pm and get your Special K Ranch flowers and plants.
Westpark Village 2351 Solomon Ave. North of Grand Ave on 24th St.
Make a Gift Visit RiverStoneHealth.org/GIVE Stay up-to-date Subscribe to our emails to hear about events and other happenings at RiverStone Health. Email us to sign-up: foundation@RiverStoneHealth.org MT Endowment Tax Credit questions? Contact Executive Director Kristie Asay, CFRE. Announcements Memorial Listing: Gifts given in tribute are posted quarterly at RiverStoneHealth.org/memorial Opt out If you no longer wish to receive communications from RiverStone Health Foundation, please call 800.398.9022 and ask for the Foundation. Contact us directly at 406.651.6555, or email foundation@RiverStoneHealth.org to opt out. Facebook There is more happening at RiverStone Health Foundation than can fit in this newsletter. Like us on Facebook to keep in touch.
Create a legacy by remembering RiverStone Health Foundation in your will. 123 South 27th Street • Billings, MT 59101 • RiverStoneHealth.org • 406.651.6555