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Impact of Philanthropy
Section 2 | How We Give Back to Our Communities
IMPACT OF PHILANTHROPY
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Philanthropy is at the heart of all we do at SCL Health. As a faith-based nonprofit healthcare system, we are called to give of ourselves, our time and our possessions to those in our community who are in need. Our foundations engage and connect donors to our programs and initiatives, which are aimed at saving lives and improving the health of the communities we serve. Gifts to SCL Health Foundations, which serve as an extension of our mission, equip us with essential resources needed to provide compassionate care and support to as many individuals as possible. Across our foundations, we see the amplified power of our communities’ generosity to build or renovate facilities, to improve patient care, to buy lifesaving medical equipment, and to implement programs that improve patient health and change lives.
$ 17.3 million Raised in contributions and Planned Giving commitments in 2019 $ 12.3 million Transferred to our hospitals
more than $ 940 thousand Secured in Caring Spirit Associate Giving Campaign commitments
more than 9,900 donors Made a gi in 2019
Creating healing spaces for children
It can be scary for children to go to the hospital, especially if they are being treated in an environment that feels cold and sterile. In fact, research shows that child-friendly spaces within medical settings help address emotional needs, stimulate learning and comprehension, and reduce stress. Focusing on emotional needs ultimately and positively influences healing; it can even decrease the need for additional sedation or pain medication and could even decrease a young patient’s length of stay.
Children who receive care in the pediatric unit at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, can now enjoy special spaces created just for them – and they have another young person to thank for it.
Micah Montag, a former patient of St. Mary’s Medical Center, was only 10 when he succumbed to an aggressive brain tumor in 2014. His family and friends created a pediatric endowment in his name to honor his memory and make sure all children who come to the hospital receive excellent care in a space designed with the whole child in mind.
The endowment has raised $1.3 million since it was founded in 2014, with $500,000 allotted for remodeling the pediatric unit, including its waiting area, playroom, and nursing station. The playroom, which was converted from a family waiting area, now contains a television, movies, books and plenty of toys to keep little ones entertained. “This makes it a less clinical and more comfortable place where they can still be kids,” says Karin VanMeter, pediatrics nurse manager at St. Mary’s Medical Center. “One of the big things is creating spaces where children are comfortable and feel they belong.”
This is only the beginning; the unit renovation was the first phase of a three-phase project. Work has already begun to construct a new outdoor play space and additional child-friendly spaces, including an ER waiting area and two emergency rooms.
Funds from the endowment have also supported additional equipment needs, pediatric education and training for hospital staff, and community education surrounding the identification and treatment of child abuse.
Platte Valley Medical Center Ambulance Services is improving access to emergency medical response services with the addition of two new ambulances, thanks in part to a grant from the Adams County Foundation and support from the community.
A two-year campaign raised more than $309,000 to fund the purchase and build-out of the ambulances, which will help meet emergency needs of residents in the rapidly growing Adams County area.
“We are exceedingly grateful to the Platte Valley Medical Center Foundation Board and to all those who donated in order to provide another safe, well-designed ambulance to our growing fleet of state-of-the-art emergency vehicles,” says Carl Craigle, Director of Ambulance Services for Platte Valley Medical Center. “Platte Valley Ambulance Services has provided 48 years,” he continues. “The support of our hospital foundation and our citizens has served to assure that our service can continue well into the future.”
Carl Craigle, Director of Ambulance Services for Platte Valley Medical Center prehospital patient care to our communities for the last
The new ambulances are equipped with portable ventilators, ultrasounds, and IV pumps that can help EMTs provide life-saving prehospital intervention for true medical emergencies, such as heart attacks, strokes and traumas. This equipment is especially important for patients who live in more isolated parts of the region and face longer travel times to get to the hospital.
Platte Valley Medical Center Ambulance Services averages more than 6,000 medical emergency and trauma calls each year and serves a 1,000-squaremile region that also includes Brighton, Great Rock, Henderson, Lochbuie, Todd Creek, Wattenburg and Weld County.
1,000 days to shape a life: St. James Healthcare pregnancy screenings surface risks, enable interventions
When Lacey Salminen found out she was 11 weeks pregnant, she knew in that moment she needed to turn her life around. As an expectant mother with a methamphetamine addiction who had never held a steady job or had a permanent place to stay, she had a tough road ahead.
Women like Lacey are why Joslin Hubbard, Obstetrical Social Work Case Manager, and George MulcaireJones, MD, started the “First 1,000 Days of Life” program at St. James Healthcare in Butte, Montana. What happens to a child during the first 1,000 days sets in motion their lifelong physical, emotional and relational health. Armed with the proper support, resources and education, women and families can Lacey Salminen is photographed with her baby, ensure that Raiden, and her boyfriend, Jimmy Starcevich, their babies will at their home in Butte. (Courtesy The Montana be less likely Standard, Meagan Thompson) to endure the same challenges they faced in their own childhoods.
“This is absolutely the most critical time in human development,” Dr. Mulcaire-Jones says. “It’s when the foundation of lifelong health is set in place.” Watch an online video of this story. Visit: sclhealthreport.org The “First 1,000 Days of Life” program was made possible by a grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation’s Meadowlark Initiative, which provides pregnant women and new mothers and their families with effective, supportive care for mental illness and “Pregnancy helps women substance use disorders. The relook at life because initiative was created there is a life inside of in response to an you. But people still need increasing number a lot of support. We are of newborns testing hopeful that support will help families get in a positive for drugs at birth. better place to parent and Beginning last year, end cycles of sadness and all pregnant patients trauma.” who walked through the doors of St.
Joslin Hubbard, Obstetrical Social James Healthcare
Work Case Manager received a packet with information on the “First 1,000 Days of Life” and a 34-question healthy pregnancy screening survey. The pregnancy screening includes questions about physical, emotional, and relationship health, along with questions about alcohol and substance use and abuse.
If any responses raise a concern, a social worker will make sure patients receive outreach and information on the services that could help them address the program’s three priorities: Make the womb safe, make the birth safe, and make parental-child attachments secure.
The screenings identified pregnant mothers who struggle with substance abuse, with the most common substances being methamphetamine, opioids and marijuana. Patients addicted to opioids may be prescribed buprenorphine-based medications like Subutex and Suboxone by certified addiction treatment providers within the clinic. Mothers abusing methamphetamines or marijuana receive education about how the drugs are harmful, since approved treatments that address abuse of these chemicals do not exist.
Joslin Hubbard, OB and Pediatric Care Coordinator, stands with Danelle Petritz, RN, and While drug addiction was a key driver in starting Dr. George Mulcaire-Jones. (Courtesy: The Montana Standard, Meagan Thompson) the program, patients with mental health pregnancy and right after birth makes access to care conditions also receive treatment and support in the easier for patients and helps combat the stigma against office. Integrating physical and behavioral health during mental health services.
IN 2019 | “FIRST 1,000 DAYS OF LIFE” PROGRAM 244 pregnancy screenings 70 pregnant women identified at risk for substance use
SINCE PROGRAM BEGAN IN 2018 94 % of pregnant women in area now receive adequate care before they give birth, up from 83% in 2018 50 % decrease in babies testing positive for substances since program was founded “Increasing communication between disciplines and the coordination of services is bridging the gap for women who suffer from addiction and mental illness. We have seen trust replace fear, and more women are engaging in prenatal care because of the supportive, nonjudgmental environment,” says Vicki Birkeland, St. Vincent Healthcare Nursing Director, Women’s Services. “We have a better understanding of addiction during pregnancy and know that these mothers are more motivated to seek help. We are making a difference one woman at a time.”
The power of giving: how one family’s history of philanthropy shaped healthcare in Billings
Although philanthropists Philip and Mary Alice Fortin have long since passed away, the couple’s strong legacy of giving to St. Vincent Healthcare lives on today. The Fortin Foundation is based in Florida, but Philip, who died in 1982, had strong ties to Montana. The foundation has continued to invest in charitable causes benefiting the state and SCL Health spanning almost four decades.
The Fortin Foundation’s generous support, directed by Mary Alice until her passing in 2007, has paved the way for new facilities and technology at St. Vincent Healthcare, leading to better care for thousands of patients in the region. The foundation contributed capital funds for the Fortin Lobby, New Hope Rehabilitation Center and the west wing of the hospital, known as the Fortin Tower, as well as sponsorship of the annual Fortin Memorial Golf Tournament over the span of three decades.
The trustees of the foundation have a strong passion for children and share in the belief that the best care for children should be delivered close to home. Multiple gifts have benefited the youngest St. Vincent Healthcare patients over the years, with the foundation’s benevolence changing the world of pediatric healthcare in Billings by creating a “one-stop” place of healing, specifically for children.
Contributions include annual Christmas gifts to children in the pediatric ward, funding for state-of-the-art equipment for the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, a $1 million donation to create the Fortin Regional Pediatric Specialty Clinic, and support for the general pediatric and pediatric intensive care units, each with a wing named in the foundation’s honor.
The foundation’s most recent gift to St. Vincent came in 2019, in the form of a $500,000 donation to lay the framework for a partnership with Children’s Hospital of Utah so St. Vincent Healthcare could begin offering pediatric surgery. The pediatric surgery program opened in September of 2019, and approximately 60 surgeries were performed there by the end of the year.
“We are blessed with a wonderful relationship with the heirs of the Fortin Foundation. The trustees value the importance of bringing quality and accessible healthcare to rural areas, especially to children. They are impressed with the strides we have made in pediatric care and are pleased with our commitment to help kids and families close to home.”
Nichole Miles, Senior Director of Development, St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation
“We’re now the only pediatric surgical program in eastern Montana. In addition to stress, families face financial burdens when they must travel out of state for their child to undergo surgery. The ability to do pediatric surgeries here provides such a relief for families and is really a godsend,” says Nichole Miles, Senior Director of Development of St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation. “The Fortins have made a tremendous impact on the health of the people in our region, and we couldn’t be more grateful to them and the continued generosity of the foundation’s trustees.”
