The foundation that supports FirstHealth of
the Carolinas is far more than bricks and mortar. It represents more than
seven decades of caring individuals who invested their time, talent and
charitable contributions toward one vision—providing the financial security
to ensure an added edge of excellence in medical care.
“We are blessed to live in a wonderful community where caring and giving
back define our character,” says Ted Taws, chairman of the Foundation
of FirstHealth Board of Trustees.
 “I’ve lived in this community for more than 40 years and have watched
our health system emerge as one of the finest in the country. We’re proud
of our top-100 rankings in cardiology, cancer and orthopaedic care. We’re
proud that many of our outreach services extend beyond the walls of the
hospital to keep our communities healthy. We’re also proud that our physicians
and staff are among the best in the nation.”
Robin Cummings, M.D., chairman of the Moore Regional Hospital
Foundation Board of Trustees, attributes much of that success to community
philanthropic support. “Philanthropy is becoming more and more important
to the life of nearly every hospital, including ours,” he says. “I heard a
speaker say recently that in the past philanthropy was the icing on the cake;
it provided the extras. Now philanthropy is part of the cake, so it is even
more important that we have a really strong philanthropic organization.”
In just the past year, Moore Regional Foundation has provided more
than $359,000 for patient care programs and equipment including:
- $55,000 to the hospital’s Community Diabetes Program
and Community Heart Failure Program to help patients
get the medicines they need and stay out of the hospital
- $55,000 to help the hospital’s Esophageal Center buy
equipment for detecting conditions that can lead to cancer
- $37,500 for a system that protects the heart during complex
open-heart procedures
- $19,000 to Oncology Services to purchase a pathology
digital imaging system so that clinical providers can review
various oncology cases with the Tumor Registry Board
- $10,000 to the Kids in Crisis program, which supports
school health services and helps prevent emergency visits
to the hospital
In 2005, the Foundation distributed nearly
$346,000 in grants. That included $66,000 to
help buy telehealth equipment for remote monitoring
of heart failure and wound care patients
after they leave the hospital. That grant followed
a request from FirstHealth Home Health to the
Foundation’s Grant Review Committee, which
reviews funding applications from the hospital
staff and makes recommendations for approval to
the Moore Regional Hospital Foundation Board.
Meeting
special
CARE
needs |
Many hospitals ask people in the community
to open their wallets only when the
time comes to put up a new building or
buy an expensive piece of equipment. But
many years ago, Moore Regional Hospital
Foundation recognized that many people
have specific causes that are close to their
hearts, such as cancer care or children’s services,
and they want to support those, too.
Moore Regional Foundation now has a
family of funds that enable people to do just
that. They are called CARE funds (for Clinical,
Advocacy, Resources and Education.)
The first of these, the Heart CARE Fund,
was established in 1991 with a $10,000
gift from the Donald and Elizabeth Cooke
Foundation. The gift gave Moore Regional
Hospital’s pioneer heart surgeon, John
Krahnert, M.D., discretion over the use of
the funds. He decided to allocate the money
toward a project more personal than a piece
of equipment, to something that would
ensure the continued success of the hospital’s
heart team.
Because excellence in nursing is required
for that success, Dr. Krahnert used the contribution
to seed an endowment fund to send
one or two nurses to continuing education
seminars once a year. Since that time, many
other community members have contributed
to the fund and an average of 10 cardiovascular
thoracic (CVT) and cardiac care unit
(CCU) nurses receive scholarships annually. |
Encouraging creativity
According to FirstHealth CEO Charles Frock,
the community volunteers who serve on the
Grant Review Committee don’t merely accept
grant proposals, they encourage them.
“They welcome applications from groups in
the hospital who want to do things that are a
little out of the ordinary or maybe a little ahead
of their time,” he says.
The remote monitoring system is a good
example. Patricia Upham, director of FirstHealth
Home Health, told the Grant Review
Committee how the telehealth system would
allow nurses to continuously monitor the condition
of patients with congestive heart failure and
those with complicated wounds and amputations
after they go home from the hospital. By detecting
problems early, she said, doctors and nurses
can respond quickly and, in many cases, keep the
patient from having to return to the hospital.
The distance-monitoring program was piloted
in the summer of 2004 with a $20,000 grant from
Moore Regional Hospital Foundation. Results of
the pilot supported a long-term commitment to providing
telehealth services to patients and led to the
discovery of better monitoring technology. In June
2005, Moore Regional Hospital and the Foundation
partnered to split the $130,000 cost of equipment to implement
the service on a broader scale. The program proved so successful
that The Duke Endowment gave FirstHealth $250,000 to buy
more monitors and serve more patients.
“On more than one occasion, the Foundation has enabled
the nursing staff to add services that the hospital would like to have funded and probably would have in a year or two,”
says Charles Stockham, former chairman of the Moore
Regional Hospital Foundation Board. “We were able to help
them go ahead and get the service up and running sooner.
Some of these services not only improve patient care but also
save the hospital money by, for example, reducing the number
of readmissions through the Emergency Department. It’s
a partnership that improves patient outcomes.”
Moore Regional Foundation is the largest member of a
family of foundations under the umbrella of the Foundation
of FirstHealth. Kathleen Westover, president of the
Foundation of FirstHealth, says the hospital staff’s ability
to take ideas to the Grant
Review Committee has had
a positive effect on morale.
“It means that if an idea
improves patient care or
provides a positive impact
on hospital operations,
creativity can be brought
to light and put into action
immediately rather than
waiting for funding requests
to go through the usual
budget process,” she says.
As a not-for-profit hospital,
Moore Regional is
essentially owned by the
community. Stockham sees
the Foundation as “a bridge
through which the community
exercises its ownership”
by identifying needs and
helping to address them.”
“I would suggest that, over
the years, the Foundation has
enabled the hospital to reach
a level of excellence in facilities
and equipment that we
might have come just short
of otherwise,” he says. “That
level of quality has helped
us attract incredible doctors,
nurses and other staff members.”
Taws, the chairman of the
Foundation of FirstHealth
Board, says there is no
doubt that Moore Regional
and the rest of FirstHealth
would not be providing the
same level of care without
the philanthropic support provided by the foundations.
“We wouldn’t have access to some of the exceptional
medical innovations that have been so important in making
FirstHealth a premier caregiver,” he says. “It gives people
confidence to know that we provide our medical teams with
technology and equipment that is second to none.” 
Making
friends for
the hospital
While the main focus of Moore Regional
Foundation is philanthropy—raising
money, investing money and giving money
to improve patient care, the Foundation
also educates people in the community
about the hospital and encourages them
to support it in whatever way they can.
That is what the Foundation’s
Stewardship Committee was set up to do.
Once a month, committee members invite
their friends or newcomers to the community
to the hospital for a luncheon talk and
a tour.
“They are always impressed and surprised,”
says JoAn Moses, who chairs the
Stewardship Committee. “Most of them
had no idea of all the things the hospital
is doing to help patients. It really does
give them a wonderful feeling about
FirstHealth.”
She says the goal of her committee is
building relationships, not raising funds.
“Of course, we will take any money that
anybody wants to give us, but we are more
interested in encouraging people to volunteer
their time and talent,” she says. “We
want to help them find their own niche for
involvement with the hospital." |
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