St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation kicks off fundraising campaign
It’s Personal: Continuing our caring commitment campaign sets $6 million fundraising goal
11 / 11 / 2011
Go to Newsroom
Maria Nelson, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
Appleton, Wis. – The St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation has announced its first fundraising capital campaign in nearly 25 years and will be asking the community for help in reaching a $6 million goal.
The campaign, which raised more than $4.9 million during a quiet phase, was formally announced during an employee event that honored the years of dedicated, personalized care provided in the former emergency department. In October, St. Elizabeth Hospital celebrated the opening of its newly renovated emergency department and surgical procedure area.
“We are very grateful to the many committed donors and employees at all levels who have been so generous during the early, quiet phase of the campaign,” said Tonya Dedering, St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation executive director. “In total, 776 staff members have made gifts along with 100 percent of the Foundation board and staff, campaign committee members, Affinity executive team and St. Elizabeth Hospital management team. We are now very excited to invite the entire community to help us in this public phase to raise more than $1 million to reach our $6 million goal.”
The campaign will help to fund the current renovation at St. Elizabeth Hospital and has several fundraising priorities:
-- Emergency department and surgery and procedure area – renovations concluded in October include updated and relocated departments to provide greater patient privacy, expanded treatment areas and the capacity to treat 40,000 patients annually.
-- Cancer center – the first phase was concluded in September and renovations include an expanded department to provide convenient access to innovative treatment options.
-- Radiology and interventional radiology – these departments will be expanded to include a hybrid operating room.
-- Women and families – this renovation includes: a breast center dedicated to cancer diagnosis, expanded and redesigned birthing suites, and significant renovation and expansion of the post-partum unit. This new center will create space to better integrate care from birth to post-partum. This multi-phased project will be completed by mid-2012.
-- Power plant upgrades – concluded in June of 2011, renovation included updated equipment that resulted in an energy savings of 25-30 percent annually.
“I am very proud of the positive impact St. Elizabeth Hospital has had on the community and our health system,” said Daniel E. Neufelder, president and CEO of Affinity Heath System. “Affinity is recognized as one of the top health systems in the nation and St. Elizabeth Hospital has been a part of this community for more than 100 years. We are excited about the opportunities to further serve the community as a result of this important project. We have received very strong support from many very generous donors, including 13 lead donors. The commitment of our volunteers is also outstanding with 59 total volunteers helping us as we enter the public phase of the campaign.”
Early major donors are:
- Dr. Zenoun Abouzelam
- Affinity Health System Medical Staff
- AZCO, INC.
- The Boldt Company
- Community First Credit Union
- Mary Beth and Jud Fowler
- J.J. Keller Foundation
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation
- Menasha Corporation
- John and Lynn Pfefferle Family
- Albert and Shirley Schmidt
- The U.S. Venture Schmidt Family Foundation
- The 19th Annual Women’s Golf and Luncheon Benefit Committee
Members of the steering committee are:
- John Pfefferle
- Tom Schmidt
- Ronald Altenburg
- Travis Andersen
- Michael Ariens
- Thomas Boldt
- Tonya Dedering
- Stephen Evans
- Mary Beth Fowler
- Frederick Hildebrand, MD
- Paul J. Hoffman
- Ralph O. Kennedy II
- Joseph McCormick, MD
- Daniel E. Neufelder
- Catherine Tierney
- Brian Wallace
To learn more or to make a donation, visit the campaign website at www.itspersonalcampaign.org.
###
###
For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a faith-based regional health care network, is the Fox Valley’s second-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For the fourth consecutive year, Affinity has been named one of the nation’s top 64 health systems based on clinical performance according to Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. For ten consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 25 family practice and specialty clinics – 22 of which are recognized as NCQA Level III medical homes, the highest level of recognition – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; and Affinity Occupational Health.