Your GIVING
MATTERS
Empowering patients
Your donations help keep crucial services right here at home.
“H
e was really fun to talk to because he would listen and keep the conversation going. I was always learning so many new things.”
in an instant. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Through his cancer journey, Bruce was sent to Omaha, where he underwent a series of scans and tests, all without the in-person
This statement comes from nine year old Emma Grace Jensen, who
support of his family because they weren’t allowed in the hospital
gave her Grandpa permission to go on to heaven in April of this year.
due to Covid. Even though the family knew this was protocol for
In August of 2020, while most of us were busy evading Covid-19, the Jensen family had an entirely different challenge on their hands. In late August, Bruce Jensen’s family knew something wasn’t quite right. His daughterin-law DeeAnn had stopped by to visit and noticed how yellow
hospitals across the nation, it didn’t make it any easier. Bruce’s wife, Carla, who had become a staple at Great Plains Health, volunteering as a greeter for the previous four years, had gotten sent home in March indefinitely because the risk of Covid was unknown and feared to be too high for our volunteer staff.
his skin was. The family was used to keeping an eye on
For treatment and care, though,
him as earlier in the year
Bruce
was
able
he had been losing weight
back
home.
He
without explanation until he
two
different
was diagnosed with diabetes. However, on this day, DeeAnn, a nurse by trade, knew that something wasn’t right. She immediately called her brotherin-law, Dr. Todd Jensen, who urged his dad to get into the emergency room right away. It was at this time that everything changed. Unfortunately, Bruce received those words that can change your life
to
come
underwent
chemotherapy
treatments, all to no avail. The cancer was too aggressive and not responding to the chemotherapy. After some time, Bruce decided this was not how he wanted his life to end. He knew that he wanted to spend his last days of feeling good with his whole family, especially the grandkids. In March, the entire family, including his kids and grandkids, embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney World to celebrate life.
“While we are grateful to every provider, nurse and staff member in our journey, case management talked us through the entire process, said Carla Jensen. With the help of the case management group guiding the way and the amazing support of the entire health care team, Bruce was able to finish his life on his own terms and go out winning. Carla shared, “They never made me feel stupid for the questions I asked. In fact, I felt like they could almost read my mind because they would answer some of my questions as I was beginning to ask them.” This brought the family great peace. She said the doctors and staff were never in a hurry and made us feel like a member of their family. Heather Jensen, Bruce’s daughter-in-law, agreed by saying “They asked us what we wanted the plan to be and acted so professional and amazing.” Heather went on to state that “Jo Smith, in case management, talked us through the entire process. She worked with Dr. Wang and Jan Daniels in palliative care to help us set up hospice care in order for us to get Bruce back home. It was so comforting when nurse Whitney Huebner told me to just sit down and be there. It gave me permission to just be a family member,” said Heather. “From the beginning of the journey to the end, I don’t have enough good things to say about all of the staff we encountered. Dr. Travis in the emergency department was remarkable, and it didn’t stop there. Sam Ady in hospice has truly found her calling and our medical equipment folks made everything so easy in a very respectful way,” stated Heather. When asked about anything else she would like to say, Carla reiterated the sentiments of the family, “We were so well informed all along the way. I can’t thank our GPHealth family enough.”
Why we give.
F
amily is why we give. When talking about his father, Dr. Todd Jensen mentioned that his dad was always thinking about the
future and considering how to make things better. According to Dr. Jensen, “This is why we give. These people are our family, and we want to make a difference. As cliché as it might sound, we want to give back. We want to make things
going into clinical education. “We have given over the years to make healthcare better,” said Heather. “How cool is it that we have stateof-the-art simulators for our nurses? We have those because of generous donations from our community. That is an example of family taking care of family.”
better.”
The couple expressed how blessed we are as a
This same reason is what drove Dr. Jensen and
community to have an independently owned
his wife Heather into medicine. Dr. Jensen
hospital. “People don’t realize how nice it is to
wanted to help people when they need it most,
make decisions here locally,” stated the Jensens,
and Heather, a registered nurse, wanted to
“We feel that by giving back, we are taking
support the people who were saving lives by
ownership in our community.”
100% donor sponsored
O
n June 1, those who go to Great Plains Health’s Callahan
when they arrive to provide a baseline, find out what things are
Cancer Center for treatment have one less stop to make
important to them and what they want to work toward, and then
for rehabilitation through physical therapy. The project
talk about how the rehab program can help.
was made possible with 100% donations. Hood sees her role in the program as “being a partner in function, According to patient Gloria Cox (pictured below), “If rehab wasn’t
and having the patients know that there’s someone on their team
here in the facility, with such a great supportive team, I would
they can come to help with any of the needs that might come up.”
not have kept going.” Like many active adults, Gloria has more important things on her mind, things like fishing and gardening.
Because of our donors, Gloria’s life is changed. Even after remission, patients can seek help. “I’ve spoken with some people
Gloria and her husband, a retired truck driver, moved here a
who are cancer survivors, and maybe they’ve rung the bell to
couple of years ago and are impressed that GPHealth thinks so
signify they are done with their treatment, but they’re not back to
much of their patients that they incorporated this service.
who they were before and doing the activities they were before,” Hood said. “[It’s important] to have someone who continues to
This project came to the Foundation as part of the internal HERO
be the partner. They’re not just out on their own and trying to
Club program. Darrick Parker, director of rehabilitation services,
navigate how do to get back to things or maybe accommodate to
and his team saw a need and decided to try and fill it. Through
things they can’t quite get back to.”
an internal project application process, the rehab center was approved for funding from donations to the cancer fund and the HERO club fund.
According to Parker, “The idea is to have an all-inclusive program so these patients can get the care that they need where they’re at, to make it more convenient, to increase that access to care.”
The program hits close to home for Hood: Her husband was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2003 and was treated at the Cancer Center, and then relapsed in 2017. He has recently reached his three-year milestone of being in remission since CAR T therapy. “We couldn’t have asked for better care than what we received here at Great Plains Health,” Hood said. “I feel like giving back to
Physical therapist Susan Hood hopes the program can allow
this community, and I have some understanding of what families
cancer patients to receive the care and support they need.
are going through and the difficult journey it is. I just want to do
“We can get an idea of what people’s baseline is, get to know them,
whatever I can to make a difference.”
understand what’s important to them — the things they want to keep doing — do periodic screenings and catch problems as they come up, just be a partner to them in function,” Hood said. Often, those who have received treatment for cancer struggle with physical problems such as weakness, fatigue and balance. Other times, they may be concerned about their limitations after surgery — for example, playing piano after a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. Hood hopes that she can have patients go through a screening
To find out how you can change the life of
Back row left to right: Nan Hynes, JoAnne Moore, Natalee Little, Dawn Peters, Mindy Kerner, Jo Smith, Leah Wescoat, Barb Eshleman Front row left to right: Patti Turner, Jodi Simants, Kendra Lampe, Kathy Gunderson Not pictured: Darian Krysl, new manager for case management (started on June 14), Teri Schledewitz, Stephani Thompson, Randi Munson
With you every step of the way case management
I
magine you are in the hospital recovering from an illness,
Case managers will assist with discharge planning and helping
accident or operation. Depending on your circumstances, you
patients and families identify community resources, such as home
are probably wondering, “What’s next? What resources are
health, skilled nursing facilities, in-home caregiving, support
available to help me at home. Can I even go home? Who is going to
groups and counseling. Case managers will assist with living wills,
call my insurance company to get this covered?” When you have questions, Case Management has answers! According to Fonda Dixon, whose brother was hospitalized with
medical power of attorney, and end-of-life conversations. They provide consultation in the areas of child/elderly abuse, human trafficking, domestic abuse and adoption.
Parkinson’s and cancer before passing, “Jo [Smith, case manager]
Case managers will work with your insurance company to get
was such a sweetheart. But more importantly than that, she was a
your hospital stay pre-authorized and are available to answer any
Godsend. She took the time to explain everything to me because it
questions regarding insurance concerns.
was so confusing and hard to understand.” Years ago, the social work and utilization review departments merged to become the case management department of GPHealth. There were four staff, three social workers and one RN. Today, Case Management has 15 strong and passionate staff, RNs, social workers/resource planners and patient medication assistance tech. When the staff is asked what they like about their job, it always comes to “being able to help the patients/families.” The case management team will assist our patients and their
Thanks to you. The case management team is very grateful for the patient financial assistance that is made possible by you. Your donations to the GPHealth Care Foundation help provide patients with clothing, medications transportation, and durable medical equipment.
families in dealing with the emotional, financial and social stressors accompanying illness and hospitalizations. Case managers provide
At the end of the day, the case management team wants to provide
services to inpatient and outpatient units and the emergency
hope and viable solutions and outcomes for patients and their
department.
families. This is our passion; it is why we come to this job daily.
a patient, go to gphealth.org/foundation.
Money matters… from the experts.
Gifts of commodities T he prices of commodities have experienced significant volatility during the past several years. Unfortunately, the Ag Sector rarely has the benefit of all livestock and grain producers experiencing the “good times” at the same time. However, when experiencing better times, a gift of commodities may be a good time to support the Great Plains Health Care Foundation.
Producers should consult with a tax advisor to make sure a contribution of commodities is appropriate for their tax situation. The contributor of the commodities must provide written documentation of the contribution to both GPHCF and the grain elevator or the sale barn of the transfer of title and GPHCF must be in control of the sale of the commodity.
Farmers and ranchers (or bankers that pretend to be farmers) have a unique opportunity to support the Great Plains Health Care Foundation and save on their taxes by contributing grain or livestock instead of making a cash donation.
For assistance with making a gift of commodities, please contact Kathy Bourque.
Leland Poppe An agricultural producer can transfer legal ownership of the grain or livestock to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, like Great Plains Health Care Foundation, and not realize the taxable income from the sale.
Board Chairman Great Plains Health Care Foundation
Great Western Bank Market President Nebraska Agribusiness
Your legacy matters
E
unice Brown
legacy and receive a quarterly stipend. Annuities are
was a healthcare
one way that you can create your legacy. Planned
partner and
giving is another. Simply by including Great Plains
hero. You can be
Health Care Foundation in your will, you are making a
one too. Eunice is
planned gift.
remembered for giving back to her community.
Working together with engaged donors just like
As a volunteer at Great
Eunice over the past 28 years, we are able to
Plains Health, Eunice
constantly and consistently invest in our health
dedicated over 11,000
system. We have added cardiology, telehealth and
hours of her life to make
improved cancer services, thanks to our legacy
the patient experience
program of donors.
better. Eunice gave more than her time; she gave a legacy gift as well. By setting up an annuity with her
Talk to your adviser today to create a legacy that will
investment advisor, Eunice was able to leave a lasting
continue to make a difference.
Whygive give monthly? Why monthly?
It's easy.
It’s easy. Automate your
Automate your legacy giving by legacy giving by setting up your setting up your recurring donation recurring donation online. online. gphealth.org/give
gphealth.org/give
You make a
It's a feel-
You make a difference. difference.
It’s a boost. feelgood good boost.
Your donation makes Your adonation patient's makes a patient’s experience better.
Get exclusive updates Get exclusive on how you are updates on how making a difference.
experience better.
you are making a difference.
WAY S T O G IV E Your gift is part of your legacy, a promise to the future of Great Plains Health and the health of the entire region. A donation can be made as an outright cash gift, a multi-year pledge or
Cash
a planned gift. Every gift the Foundation receives makes a difference in furthering the mission through enhancements in patient care and patient experience. To appropriately acknowledge donations at all levels of giving, the Foundation established giving clubs and donor programs to thank and recognize our generous investors, both annually and cumulatively. Foundation committees oversee the giving
Estates/property
clubs and are charged with building better relationships with donors through events and improved communication. Donors are recognized on the Foundation’s donor wall, updated annually, in the lobby of Great Plains Health under the appropriate
Gifts of commodities
giving club, and will be notified of upcoming Great Plains Health and Great Plains Health Care Foundation events. Donors also receive the Foundation e-newsletter, published monthly. Start your legacy today at gphealth.org/foundation
308.568.7411
gphealth.org/foundation
Great Plains Health Care Foundation | 601 W. Leota St. | P.O. Box 1167 | North Platte, NE 69103