HEALTH HOPE OPPORTUNITY
“I Give to Every Organization This Way” Mike Reagan knows firsthand how important donor gifts are to an organization like Cherry Health. He was the Executive Director of ProAction Behavioral Health before it merged with Cherry Street Health Services to form Cherry Health in 2009. He then spent the next decade working at Cherry Health, helping establish its support foundation and cultivating donors. Mike retired three years ago, but he is still committed to the cause.
Making Ripples for Health
“I believe in what Cherry Health does. This is a safety net. It improves wellbeing in all possible ways …social, emotional and physical.”
“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the battle was lost.”
Although he has retired, Mike continues to support the mission through monthly giving. “Many organizations rely on events to help them fundraise,” he points out. “During COVID, many of those events stopped. But the need stayed the same. I love making a monthly gift because I can give what makes sense for my budget. It is planned and predictable for me as well as for the organization.”
This well-known proverb illustrates how small omissions can have significant consequences. In the same way, our patients experience a host of ripple effects when they do not have the resources to do simple things, like checking blood pressure at home.
Mike understands the impact that giving in this way has on an organization’s costs. “Monthly gifts make fundraising less expensive for the nonprofit,” he notes. “They know I am giving so they don’t need to send me reminders or requests. They can also plan on my gift.” For his part, Mike says he loves the convenience. “I set the amount and it is automatically withdrawn each month. I can go online and increase or decrease it any time. For a retiree like me, that flexibility is important.” Cherry Health is not the only beneficiary of Mike’s monthly giving. “This is how I give to any organization I support,” he says. “It makes it much easier to manage what I want to do for Cherry Health and others.”
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Anna Goddard, CFRM Foundation Director 616.965.8217 Kat MacDonald Donor Relations & Events Manager 616.965.8267 Breanne Zost Foundation Coordinator 616.965.8254
Patti Griswold – Chair Elizabeth Joy Fossel – Vice Chair Ann Liefer – Treasurer Jessica Payne – Secretary India Manns – Immediate Past Chair
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Jonathan Anderson Wayne Bersano Jordoun Eatman Armando Herrera Shelley Irwin Jessie Jones Lisa M. Lowery, MD
“If you can’t afford a blood pressure cuff, you can’t afford complications from your condition,” Cassie points out. “This is a small thing we can do to help patients achieve better health and reduce their medical costs.”
The Cherry Health Foundation Board designated donor dollars to the Fund so that staff could advocate for resources that would improve patient experiences and care. Thanks to generous community members, team members like Cassie can identify and fill patient needs. “We requested and received funding to buy 172 cuffs!” Cassie reports ecstatically. “Now we can provide cuffs to patients who cannot get one through insurance.”
CHERRY HEALTH FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
100 Cherry Street SE Grand Rapids MI 49503
The provider can track her vitals and adjust her medications if needed. “As a result of receiving the cuff, this patient has kept her follow up appointments. She has controlled her blood pressure and stayed out of the Emergency Room,” Cassie notes.
That is why Cassie and her team jumped at the chance to apply for Opportunity Fund dollars.
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“Many of our patients have hypertension, diabetes, or other conditions in which ongoing blood pressure readings are important,” says Cassie Pederson, Medical Assistant at Cherry Health’s Barry Community Health Center. “Not all insurance companies will pay for a blood pressure cuff. And for many patients, a $50-$100 cuff is out of reach.”
FALL 2022
Peaches McCahill Alexis Reame Joanne Roehm Robert L. Tolbert, Jr. Elizabeth Triezenberg Carroll Velie
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This simple tool can prevent a host of ripple effect problems. “If a patient cannot get to the clinic, or does not have the tools to monitor health at home, the situation can easily become critical,” Cassie explains. “The cost of not tracking blood pressure is exponentially higher than the cost of a cuff. By having this tool and calling the clinic with readings, the patient can avoid costly visits to Urgent Care or even the Emergency Room.” Here is a perfect example. A fifty-nine year old woman with hypertension, social anxiety and no insurance received one of these cuffs. She can now do video visits with her provider in the comfort of her own home. This helps relieve her anxiety and lower her blood pressure. It also helps prevent additional transportation expenses that she cannot afford.
“The cost of not tracking blood pressure is exponentially higher than the cost of a cuff.”