Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation • Winter 2010
Foundation in Focus
Hope. Help. Access.
e i b b A l l e n r a D
Read Abbie’s story about how she used her experience to
help others in need. page 4
PO Box 261 │ Rolla, Missouri │ 65402 │ Telephone: 573-458-7946 │ Email lhartley@pcrmc.com │ www.pcrmc.com/about/foundation.aspx
Opening Thoughts Timing Your Gift Matters – Especially at Year’s End Addressing charitable concerns is a natural and satisfying part of review and reflection for many of us at the year’s end. Thus, with only one month of 2010 remaining, Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation respectfully requests that you include it among your giving priorities. The life-saving work of Phelps County Regional Medical Center touches each of us, whether it’s through community education, health screenings, medical office visits, emergency and trauma center critical care, outpatient procedures, inpatient hospital stays, and rehabilitation services. PCRMC truly cares for the communities it serves. The timing and type of asset donated really matter with respect to favored tax treatment and can often significantly reduce the donor’s “cost” of making the contribution. To illustrate, gifts of property such as stocks, bonds and real estate that have increased in value – yes, there are still some out there — can result in extra tax savings. If such assets are held for longer than a year, the donor can give them and claim an income-tax charitable deduction for the full fair market value. Furthermore, the donor incurs no tax on the capital gain. If one owns securities that have decreased in value, selling those securities and making an income tax deductible gift of the cash proceeds should be explored. The sale creates a loss that may be deductible from other taxable income. The end of the year is also a good time to review long-range estate and financial plans. Wills, living trusts, life insurance policies, retirement accounts and other planning vehicles frequently offer exceptional opportunities for leaving a lasting legacy. Many donors prefer to fund meaningful future gifts while retaining a life income and enjoying immediate income tax savings and other benefits. NOTE: Federal estate taxes are currently repealed for all deaths that occur in the calendar year 2010. In 2011, estate taxes are scheduled to be reinstated for estates worth more than one million dollars at rates up to 55 percent. Please act now to advance the vision and mission of Phelps County Regional Medical Center through your charitable contributions. The contents of this article and any materials you request and receive from the Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation are general in nature and are not intended as either legal, financial or tax advice. You should consult your own professional advisor(s) before making a final decision with respect to gift plans and agreements.
Lorrie Hartley Director of Foundation
Phelps Regional Healthcare Foundation
featuring The Abbie Darnell Fund 02 04 08 09 10
Foundation Funds The Abbie Darnell Fund Small Change, Big Results Panera Bread Sells Pink Ribbon Bagel Giving Form
How to Donate Visit PCRMC online at
www.pcrmc.com/ about/foundation.aspx and scroll down to the online giving form.
Mail a donation to the Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation, P.O. Box 261, Rolla, MO 65402 Call the Foundation office 573-458-7946
Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation 2010 Board of Directors • Ted Day, President • Frank Lazzaro, Vice President • Tina Pridgeon, Secretary • Debbie Schuetz, Treasurer • Jo Ann Brand-Hoertel • Yvonne Dawdy • Dr. Mary Graham • Pat Leaders • Dr. John Park • Joe Phelps • Mark Riefer • Keith Strassner • John Denbo, Ex-Officio
Phelps Regional Healthcare Foundation Funds The Phelps Regional Healthcare Foundation (PRHF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that raises funds for the following areas:
Hospice Fund The Hospice Fund provides financial support to qualified hospice patients and their families. The Hospice Fund can help provide assistance with the following: • Prescription Medication • Food Supplements • Personal Bills • Other needs as identified.
Abbie Darnell Fund: page 4
The Abbie Darnell Fund provides support to patients undergoing rehabilitation who can benefit from using Bioness Equipment.
Heart -2- Heart Fund The Heart -2- Heart Fund provides education, screenings and access to resources and programs about heart disease. Community education and healthy heart screenings are offered to the public, and access to financial assistance for cardiac rehabilitation and other heart-related programs are provided to patients who qualify. The program also places a special emphasis on explaining how men and women often experience different warnings and signs of a heart attack. The funds for Heart -2Heart are raised during an annual December luncheon sponsored by the Heart -2Heart committee.
Baby Steps Fund
A social worker or health care professional will complete an assessment to determine if a patient qualifies for assistance. Applications are available to PCRMC employees and through the Foundation. For more information, please contact Lorrie Hartley, director of the Foundation, at (573) 458-7946 or visit www.pcrmc.com/About/Foundation.aspx.
Breast Center Mammography Fund The Breast Center Mammography Fund provides financial assistance to qualified women for screening mammograms and other procedures as recommended at PCRMC’s Comprehensive Breast Center. The breast Center Coordinator serves as the point of contact between patients and the Foundation.
Hope. Help. Access.
The Baby Steps Fund provides support to pediatrics and obstetrics patients and PCRMC’s OB/Maternity department in the following ways: • Education • Breast Feeding Bras • Breast Pumps • Small Equipment, ex: swings, bouncers • Perinatal Loss and Bereavement Support • Other needs as identified
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Smile Mobile Fund The Smile Mobile Fund provides dental care for children who are between the ages of 6 months and 18 years old who would otherwise not have access to care. The Smile Mobile is a mobile dental clinic that provides pediatric dental care and dental health education within a 50-mile radius of PCRMC.
Joy of Caring Cancer Fund The Joy of Caring Cancer Fund provides financial assistance to patients undergoing cancer treatment who are in need. The fund can help provide qualifying patients with the following: • Prescription Medication • Food Supplements • Wigs • Mastectomy Bras • Heating/Cooling Repairs • Travel Expenses • Other needs as identified
Nursing Education Fund The Nursing Education Fund provides scholarships to PCRMC’s licensed professional nurses who choose to continue their education to enhance their current role or prepare for a future opportunity. In addition, this fund supports nursing development and training.
A social worker or healthcare professional will complete an assessment to determine if a patient qualifies for assistance, and will also determine the amount that can be awarded. The application is available to hospital staff or can be requested from the Foundation.
Patient Transportation Fund The Foundation supports PCRMC’s complimentary Patient Transportation Service through the Patient Transportation Fund. This service provides transportation to patients who otherwise would not have the resources to travel to and from the hospital campus and clinics. The service is available for most needs, including round trip transportation to a physician office visit, or a ride home after being discharged from the hospital.
For more information, please contact Lorrie Hartley, director of the Foundation, at (573) 458-7946 or visit www.pcrmc.com/About/Foundation.aspx.
Mission Statement
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The Patient Transportation Service is able to accommodate patients living within a 30-mile radius of the hospital.
To serve as the philanthropic organization that facilitates charitable donations to support and assist the mission of PCRMC in providing for the health care needs of the communities it serves.
Abbie Darnell is a 15-year old honors student at Rolla High School. She’s involved in school clubs, supports the Bulldogs at games, enjoys spending time with her friends and occasionally works the concession stand at soccer games. Abbie also has Cerebral palsy. The Mayo Clinic defines Cerebral palsy as a group of disorders characterized by loss of movement or nerve functions. Cerebral refers to brain and palsy to weakness or poor control of muscles.
Darnell fund
The Abby Darnell Fund
Abbie
The
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Strength and determination Jean and Brent Darnell were expecting quadruplets. At 30 weeks, Jean delivered Abbie and her brother Colin. Abbie weighed just two pounds and three ounces. Like Abbie, Colin was also diagnosed with Cerebral palsy. “We were fortunate enough to bring Abbie & Colin home,” Jean says. “Abbie spent her first two months in the neonatal unit. When she was eleven months old, we were told she would be deaf, blind and severely mentally challenged. She started talking just about the next day – she heard everything they said and decided to prove them wrong.” Abbie is known for her strength and determination. When she started talking, her doctor suggested speech therapy. It was cancelled because she started speaking in complete sentences as a 14 month old. Then at 2 years old, Abbie underwent a selective dorsal rhizotomy. During this surgery, the sensory nerves are exposed and each sensory nerve root is divided into 3-5 rootlets. Each rootlet is tested with electromyography, which records electrical patterns in muscles. Rootlets are ranked from 1 (mild) to 4 (severe) for spasticity. The severely abnormal rootlets are cut. “Abbie was back to square one after that surgery,” Jean says. “Every skill she had developed she lost. She had to relearn them, and she did.”
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Abbie has had six additional surgeries, including three on her eyes. Cerebral palsy can affect any muscle in the body, including the balance of the eye muscles. Another surgery severed both of Abbie’s femurs and rotated them to prevent her hips from becoming displaced.
A new discovery Because of the way cerebral palsy affects muscles, Abbie had to wear leg braces continuously until a recent hip surgery. During the summer of 2009, Jean and Brent noticed that the quality of Abbie’s gait pattern was decreasing.
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We wondered if she would need to start wearing braces again,” Jean says. “We scheduled a checkup with her orthopedic surgeon to discuss what needed to be done.
determination and the aid of a device from the Bioness company, she did. I was amazed by her story, and I shared it with my husband Ted.” Ted Day, president of MO-Sci Corporation, is also involved in many community organizations, including the Community Partnership and the president of the Phelps Regional Healthcare Foundation. Jean is the director of “Capable Kids & Family” at the partnership, and Ted knew her from all her work with the children and families who benefit from the program. “I went in to see Jean and tell her about the Bioness,” Ted says. “I didn’t know about Abbie or her brother, I just thought that it might help some of the kids Jean works with through the Partnership – she is a strong advocate for families and young children and all the challenges they go through. She had impressed upon me how many simplistic things that can be done
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During that same summer, Kim Day saw an episode of the Early Show that caught her attention. “The show was featuring a young woman who was a snow boarder and suffered from paralysis,” Kim says. “Her medical team didn’t think she would walk again. But with her Bioness device
to help them, and I was really taken with that. My wife and I have a soft spot in our hearts for children.” As she learned about the Bioness, Jean realized that it could possibly help her daughter. “After Ted shared the Bioness information with me, I took it to the appointment,” Jean says. “The doctor did not feel braces would help her gait and suggested a different procedure. He also stated that Bioness would be extremely helpful, but doubted that we could get them through insurance.”
How it works The Bioness device is clinically referred to as the NESS L300, which helps individuals with foot drop problems who suffer from stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, Cerebral palsy, incomplete spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
Studies have shown that the Bioness can help individuals like Abbie in
• Increasing mobility • Increasing range of motion • Preventing muscle atrophy • Re-educating muscles • Increasing blood circulation
A helping hand When Ted and Kim found out that the Bioness could indeed help Abbie, they took heartfelt action. Brent and Jean arrived home one day to find a package on their doorstep from Bioness – paid in full. The Darnells and Days then worked together to convince the insurance company to cover Abbie’s Bioness. Because of their hard work, the trend is changing and more insurance companies will approve this type of equipment and treatment. Once insurance agreed to cover Abbie’s Bioness, the Darnell’s gave the money back to the Days so they could go on to help more people.
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The difference in the muscles in Abbie’s legs is amazing,” Brent says. “A lot of children with Cerebral palsy have really thin legs – she doesn’t. The muscle in her legs are forming, she’s strong.
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Abbie also saw improvement in her circulation. Her toes used to be purple and ice cold. The Bioness helped improve the circulation to get rid of the coloring and warm up her feet. As part of growing stronger and feeling better, Abbie found she had more physical strength for fun activities like shopping. She was able to go out shopping with her mom without needing to rest. “The difference it makes in her endurance is incredible,” Jean says. “In the past it took so much of her energy to get around the building with her walker – she didn’t want help with other things. With Bioness, she has the energy to do more of the activities after school that she enjoys.” When Abbie met Ted & Kim Day for the first time, she shared a personal essay with them. “In her essay, she says if she had her choice of being who she was with her challenges, or being an unchallenged teenager, she would still choose to be who she is today, because it has made her who she is today,” Ted says. “I’ve never been close to a young person who has this attitude that they can do anything. Kim and I were moved by that. We saw how the Bioness was making a difference in Abbie’s life, and we realized other people in the community could also benefit from this therapy.”
If you or a loved one would like more information about Bioness, please call Brenda Hughes, director of RehabCare, at (573) 458-3035.
The Abby Darnell Fund
The device is a small, noninvasive lightweight leg cuff that is designed to sit just below the knee. It contains electrodes that provide stimulation to the leg muscles. A small gait sensor is attached to the individual’s shoe, and it works with the leg cuff to sense when the heel is in the air or on the ground. The system also comes with a handheld remote that allows the user to adjust the level of stimulation or turn the device off.
the following ways:
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Reaching out to others Ted and Kim approached the Phelps Regional Healthcare Foundation to create a fund to help others in the community who could also benefit from using Bioness. With great enthusiasm from the Foundation board, the “Abbie Darnell Fund” was created. Ted and Kim Day generously seeded the fund with a $50,000 contribution. This seed money will provide training for the RehabCare staff, and purchase the Bioness equipment for other qualified candidates. RehabCare at PCRMC has partnered with the Foundation to provide this new service in our community. “It just shows you the degree of character in Abbie,” Ted says. “I don’t know how many 15-year olds would have her mature outlook to take on this responsibility and share their story with the community. Abbie receives so much strength and good support from her parents. She wants to help others, and we are just elated that we all can work together to accomplish that. I think she’ll help other folks far more than Kim and I can, if she can instill her positive outlook in others.”
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If you would like to make a contribution to the Abbie Darnell Fund, please call the Foundation Office at (573) 458-7946 or visit us online at www.pcrmc.com/foundation. aspx or PO Box 261 Rolla, MO 65402.
Season’s Greetings from Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation
Small Change, Big Results:
Even modest gifts can really add up for your favorite charity What use is that forgotten $5 you found in the pocket of your old coat, or maybe the $10 you won on last week’s lottery scratch-off ticket? Don’t instantly assume these little amounts are meaningless to hospitals and healthcare foundations dedicated to helping people and the community. Quite the contrary, in fact: It’s a steady stream of comparatively small donations that enable many institutions to do their good works. Small gifts can make a profound difference in the lives of others.
Power of the People
Money Well Spent
Just what will small gifts buy? Well, $18 buys two dozen teddy bears for ill children, for instance. Reading glasses—to let seniors more comfortably peruse newspapers, books and magazines—can be bought for as little as 76 cents apiece in wholesale lots of 12 dozen (144 glasses for $109.44). Paperback books can be purchased for $1 apiece, potted plants to dress up a hospital room cost a few dollars each, and a variety of children’s toys sell for under $10. Bottom line: Small amounts quickly can be turned into joy for the right recipients. But there may be still more good that happens when that spare $5
or $20 is donated to a good cause. That’s because, as McSwain explains, the giver benefits too. “We all feel better when we give—when we find it in ourselves to help another and the truth is that very often small gifts are given because the donor really wants to help another person. “The more we share,” McSwain says, “the happier we will be.”
Considering Planned Giving?
If you have an institution you wish to do more for eventually, philanthropy expert Steve McSwain, author of The Giving Myths, suggests initiating a conversation about ways to benefit the institution in your will. Many organizations offer free estate planning assistance designed to help navigate the ins and outs of tax laws. “Often there are real benefits to the donors and also to their beneficiaries and the charitable institutions they want to help,” McSwain says. And don’t think only millionaires need apply. Almost all institutions are delighted, and grateful, to be remembered in much smaller ways in wills. Just ask the place you want to help to put you in touch with its planned giving department.
Small Change, Big Results
Proof of this phenomenon is in the 2007 American Express Gift Survey, as analyzed by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, one of the nation’s leading authorities on charitable giving. According to this research, two-thirds of all donations are $100 or less, and the median gift is $50. Those numbers start out small but get big, fast. Giving USA Foundation estimates that all U.S. charitable giving amounted to a jawdropping $306.39 billion in 2007. “As long as there are no strings attached to the gifts—and usually there aren’t with small donations— even very small gifts matter to most institutions. They definitely add up,” says Paul Brest, coauthor of Money Well Spent: A Strategic Plan for Smart Philanthropy (Bloomberg Press, 2008).
The lack of strings is key, he says. Large donors often want an equally large say in how their money is used. Of course, sometimes that works out well for everyone concerned, but a reality is that unfettered cash is the best of all. “Unrestricted gifts, no matter their size, get aggregated, and the sum can become substantial,” Brest says. “Most institutions definitely know how to put small contributions to very good use,” says Steve McSwain, author of The Giving Myths (Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2007). “Everyone can make a positive difference. Small gifts are so important.”
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Thank you for making our success possible.
The Phelps Regional Healthcare Foundation hosted a wine and cheese donor appreciation party “Comedy Uncorked.” This event allowed the Foundation Board members (pictured top left) an opportunity to say thank you for everyone’s generosity over the past year. More than 150 contributors attended the event and six wineries were featured including St. James Winery, Meramec Vineyards, Three Squirrels Winery, Peaceful Bend Vineyard, Wenwood Farm Winery, Heinrichshaus Vineyard and Winery. It was full of great food, great wine, laughter and a wonderful time of recognition. A special presentation was made honoring the PCRMC Auxiliary for donating $2 million dollars to the hospital over the recent years (pictured middle left). Without the continued support and generosity of our donors (employees, volunteers, community members, business & individuals) the Foundation would not be able to be an economic resource for Phelps County Regional Medical Center.
Panera Bread Sells Pink Ribbon Bagel
Hope. Help. Access.
Portion of Proceeds Benefit Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation Breast Center Mammography Fund
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ROLLA– Panera Bread of Rolla is inviting the community to join in the fight against breast cancer by eating a bagel during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Panera’s signature Pink Ribbon Bagels will be sold during the month of October, and .25 from each Pink Ribbon Bagel sold will be donated to the Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation Breast Center Mammography Fund. This year’s goal is to sell 3,400 bagels, a total of $850 to benefit the Mammography Fund.
mammogram, regardless of her financial ability to pay,” said Lorrie Hartley, Foundation Director.
The Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation Breast Center Mammography Fund will use Pink Ribbon Bagel Funds to financially assist women, who meet the established income guidelines, receive a free mammogram at Phelps County Regional Medical Center.
“Panera Bread is committed to serving the members of the local community, many of whom have had their lives touched by breast cancer,” said Greg Anderson, owner of Panera Bread of Rolla. “We are honored to support the Mammography Fund.”
“It is our goal to ensure every woman has the opportunity to receive a
The Panera Pink Ribbon Bagel is baked fresh daily in each of Panera Bread’s bakery-cafes and features
cherry chips and real bits of Bing cherries and cranberries. The product follows the tradition of ‘thinking pink’ during the month of October in the quest to eradicate breast cancer disease. Sue Stees, one of Panera Bread’s first franchisees and a breast cancer survivor, developed the idea for the Pink Ribbon Bagel in 2001 as a way to help support the cause. “This undertaking tickles us pink,” said Stees, a Tulsa resident who currently operates Panera bakery-cafes in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas. To learn more about the Panera Bread Pink Ribbon Bagel, please contact Amy Nelson, Marketing Coordinator, at 573-480-2346 or by email at amym@usmo.com. To learn more about the Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation Breast Center Mammography Fund, please call (573) 458-7946.
Yes, I am Grateful! Enclosed, please find my gift of $____________________ Contact Information (please print) Name: __________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________ City: _________________ State: ______ Zip: ___________ Telephone: ______________________________________ Email: __________________________________________ Please direct my gift to: Greatest Need Fund Joy of Caring Fund Hospice Fund Capital Fund Heart-2-Heart Fund Smile Mobile Fund Patient Transportation Fund Baby Steps Breast Center Mammography Fund Recognize a special caregiver or a Team of Angels: ________________________________________________
Guardian Angels
Giving Form
Giving Options Online at www.pcrmc.com/about/foundation/aspx Check payable to Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation in the amount of $____________ Please charge $__________ to my credit card ____MC ____VISA ____DISC ____AMEX Card # __________________________________________ Expiration: ______________________________________ Signature: _______________________________________ To learn more about ways to donate to PCRMC, contact the Foundation staff by calling or writing to us at:
Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation
PO Box 261 • Rolla, Missouri 65402 www.pcrmc.com/about/foundation/aspx (573) 458-7946 or (573) 458-7604
Hope. Help. Access.
Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation and PCRMC are committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. We do not rent, sell or trade donor lists. You can be removed from our mailing list at any time by calling (573) 458-7604.
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Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation PO Box 261 • Rolla, Missouri 65402
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 85
PO Box 261 │ Rolla, Missouri │ 65402 │ Telephone: 573-458-7946 │ Email lhartley@pcrmc.com │ www.pcrmc.com/about/foundation.aspx