Donations no longer a luxury at hospitals

When the E.L.Weigand Foundation granted $1.5 million to Saint Mary's a few days ago, the gift stood as a clear-cut example of the rising importance of philanthropy in the world of medicine.

More subtly, it also demonstrated the increasingly proactive role taken by organizations such as the Reno-based E.L.

Weigand Foundation in shaping medical care.

Saint Mary's will use the $1.5 million awarded by the foundation to purchase advanced technology for its cardiac catheterization lab.

The equipment manufactured by General Electric allows physicians to capture a better view of a patient's heart, giving them a chance to more easily diagnose and treat potential coronary blockages that cause heart attacks.

The Reno hospital will be the second in the nation to install the new system.

But Saint Mary's couldn't think of taking on the project or other major improvements without the help of donors, says Stephanie Houk, vice president at the Saint Mary's Foundation.

As the federal government and private insurers continue to push hard for costcontainment, Houk said last week, hospitals operate on increasingly thin margins margins that don't leave much room for purchases of new technology or creation of new programs.

"Health care really depends on philanthropy to provide needed services and equipment," she said.

"We must have the newest equipment.We must be able to provide for the northern Nevada communities."

The increasing importance Saint Mary's gives to philanthropy is reflected in the numbers: Four years ago, the health system's foundation raised about $1 million.

This year, it will raise $4 million.

That's the result, Foundation Director Joel Muller said, of efforts to create longterm relationships with donors and efforts to match donors' interests with the needs of Saint Mary's.

Another indication of the importance of philanthropy: Even though the foundation has a staff of 11, Saint Mary's doesn't use any part of donors' gifts to pay for fundraising expenses.

The health system pays those costs itself.

And the health network takes good care of those who support Saint Mary's.

A registered nurse is assigned specifically to major donors; last week, she was making sure they received flu shots.

The development of long-term relationships is important, too, to the E.L.

Weigand Foundation.

Kristen Avansino, president and executive director of the foundation, noted that the foundation has been involved with cardiac care at Saint Mary's for more than a decade.

Its grants to the cardiac program over that time total about $8 million, and the E.L.Weigand Foundation has a stake in ensuring that the program continues to be among the best in the nation.

"We were compounding excellence," she said, explaining that the foundation also views its grant to Saint Mary's as a way of preserving an asset in which the foundation has a significant investment.

The equipment purchased with the recent grant will replace a 12-year-old system.

The grant for the new cardiac technology was the result of ongoing conversations between the hospital and the foundation about future needs and ways the foundation could help.

"The money is merely the vehicle to accomplish the mission," Avansino said.

That partnership funds from the foundation, expertise from Saint Mary's is a model that the E.L.Weigand Foundation increasingly seeks to follow with its grants throughout the West.

While the 21-year-old foundation once waited for funding requests to arrive at its office, Avansino said its staff and board increasingly identifies needs and then finds organizations that can use the foundation's funds to address those needs.

"That means we are on the move," she said.

"It means voracious reading, careful due diligence, and anonymous site visits."

From its partners, in turn, the E.L.

Weigand Foundation expects careful accountability and ongoing reports.

"I read every one of those reports," Avansino said.

Whether the grant is made to a medical institution or one of the four other major categories funded by the foundation, Avansino said the organization moves carefully.

"If we err, we err on the side of being too cautious and too pure," she said.