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your family, and friends have access to the best healthcare available."
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Mid-Florida foundation maps best
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| George Aycrigg/News Chief |
| Dr. Greg Gooden, an invasive cardiologist, works on a patient while being assisted by Angie Vittone, a radiology technician in the heart catherization lab while Dianna Gray monitors vital signs in the control room at Winter Haven Hospital. |
WINTER HAVEN - Mid-Florida Medical Services has needs.
The parent organization of Winter Haven Hospital and Regency Medical Center is suffering from a manpower shortage, just like the rest of the country.
The hospital would like to expand current programs, while implementing new ones. There are certain technological items and equipment it also finds necessary to improve the health care it provides to East Polk County.
The organization's non-profit Foundation already raises funds to help meet those needs. But now it's looking to be smarter about its fund-raising efforts.
The Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation has started its Planned Giving program, an initiative that uses volunteer professionals in the fields of law, financial planning and accounting to help donors better map out gifts to the group.
The program is essentially designed to let donors know that they have options besides giving money to Mid-Florida Medical Services that only lasts once, said Joel Thomas, executive director of the Foundation.
By planning a gift, he said, a donor can provide funds that perpetually replenish themselves, such as an endowment.
"Any large health service organization can always use additional resources to augment its operations," Thomas said. "Operational resources ebb and flow, but philanthropy can be a constant form of support."
The Foundation
Hospitals utilizing foundations to help raise money is nothing new.
The Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation was formed about a year ago, separating its duties from the main Mid-Florida Medical Services organization. It's governed by a board of volunteer trustees and provides money to help support Winter Haven Hospital, a 527-bed major medical center serving East Polk County.
"The main reason for the existence is to acquire philanthropic resources to support the needs of the Winter Haven Hospital and the patients and community it serves," Thomas said.
Winter Haven Hospital can't do that alone, says Sam Hart, with SunTrust Bank of Mid-Florida.
A Foundation Trustee board member, Hart is also on the Professional Advisor Council, a volunteer support group set up for the Planned Giving program.
"The community is aware of the fact that the hospital provides a lot of services at a discount or at no cost," Hart said.
That makes donations necessary for the hospital to continue expanding and improving its services, he said, which in turn attracts more businesses, residents and professionals to the area.
"A progressive, state-of-the-art hospital is necessary for a 'healthy' community and business environment," said Hart.
The Foundation is off to a good start in its fundraising efforts, said Richard Straughn, a Winter Haven attorney on the Professional Advisor Council and serves as first vice-chair of the board of trustees.
The structure of today's health insurance system "in no way covers the cost of care this hospital needs to provide," he said, adding, "But we have a duty as a hospital to serve those who are less fortunate."
The Philanthropic Pie
Unfortunately, the Foundation is competing with other charities for a piece of the "philanthropic pie," Thomas said.
Health and human services institutions typically receive donations after religious groups and education organizations, he said.
"We don't want to dominate because we think they are as important," Hart noted, but said, "it's obvious you have to get on the list, so to speak."
Straughn said donating to religious organizations is very important, but said, "There is probably nothing more important than health care and education, and sometimes you can give and it helps both."
The Foundation awards scholarships to students entering the health services fields.
But even for those who are "friends of the hospital," they may not know how many different ways they can give to the Foundation, Thomas said.
There are the out-right gifts -- money to pay for an immediate need. The hospital's annual Fall Gala, a black-tie fundraising event, falls into that category, along with cash donations.
There's capital giving, where donors help out with the "bricks and mortars" needs, like facilities, technology or manpower.
And then there's Planned Giving, which is where the Professional Advisor Council enters.
When organizers began planning the Foundation's separation from the main Mid-Florida Medical Services about 18 months ago, the planned giving program was also in the works.
They've been working for the past year to build up the Foundation's place in the fundraising community.
"You've got to do it brick-by-brick," Straughn said. "Another way to say it is gift-by-gift."
The Professional Advisor Council
There are 10 members of the Council, working in the fields of law, financial planning and accounting.
Among those are Ben Adams Jr., certified public accountant; Brad Dantzler, financial advisor; Kelly Kennedy, attorney and CPA; Stephen Henry, financial advisor; Mark Turner, attorney; Jack Watkins, financial advisor; and Turner Wiggins, CPA.
They are key to the planned giving program, Thomas said, because they get the word out to other professionals in the community that residents have this option.
"This group of highly-trained professionals will help guide and steer our Planned Giving program," Thomas said.
The Council has two goals: To help potential donors achieve maximum financial security, and to suggest ideas that allow donors to consider giving the Foundation charitable support.
A donor has several ways it can contribute to the Foundation, Thomas said, including bequests, establishing trusts, dedicating retirement assets, or setting up endowment funds.
Donors can have both long-term and short-term benefits, Hart said.
The donor can realize tax breaks or estate costs, he said, or create a long-lasting legacy.
"I don't think there can be a failure," Hart said. "If you raise one dollar, you've been successful."
For more information about the Planned Giving program, contact the Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation at (863) 293-1121, extension 5826.