Winter Haven Hospital (WHH) and its women’s and children’s facility the Regency Medical Center (RMC) represents the largest not-for-profit community based organization in East Polk and the Ridge community.

Founded by local civic and business leaders over 75-years ago the 527 bed major medical center has over 2500 employees and is the biggest private employer in this area.  All told this critically important community assets’ economic impact and importance to our regional economy is in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.  

WHH is the vibrant hub of an amazing world class healthcare community that we all benefit from. Acting as the key referral center for smaller outlying hospitals’ more complex and critically ill patients WHH is surrounded by literally hundreds of physicians, nurses, and healthcare specialists that work collectively to provide some of the best healthcare services in the U.S.  

WHH is also the only medical center in Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties that is affiliated with the University of Florida College of Medicine/Shands Healthcare as well as with all of the major medical group practices in this region.  Board certified physicians from Bond Clinic, Clark & Daughtrey, Gessler Clinic, Neurology and Neurosurgery Associates, and the Watson Clinic all provide patient care at WHH and the RMC.

Add all these facts together along with its new state approved open-heart surgery program and there is no doubt Winter Haven Hospital is an institution that will touch all of our lives at some point and is therefore most worthy of our support.

Half way through our fiscal year Trustees and Foundation friends have been extremely busy raising funds.

 

To this extent, I would like to recognize our three newest Foundation Trustees, Sam Killebrew, Lynn Oakley, and Steve Saterbo.  We welcome them as they join us in our efforts.  

Annual giving to support the most urgent and current needs of the patients we serve is at an all time high.  The Annual Fund year to date has raised over $200,000. The Fourteenth Annual Fall Gala raised $300,000 for local student healthcare scholarships in November and the newly established Colorado Boxed Beef, R.D. Saterbo Memorial Golf Tournament raised $15,0000 in May.  

In addition, very special and generous leadership gifts have been provided as of this date by the Acker, Lowenstein, Rynerson and Saterbo families.  Most significantly as many of you are aware the Foundation recently received a wonderful pledge of $500,000.00 from the Winter Haven Hospital Auxiliary volunteer organization. With the first $125,000.00 already in-hand these funds will be utilized to help build WHH’s new main lobby and to help launch construction on the hospitals new open-heart surgery center.  

The Foundation’s planned giving Professional Advisor Council members comprised of this areas leading Attorney’s, CPA’s, and Financial Planners continue to work with Foundation Trustees to educate local philanthropists about the link between effective estate planning and providing support for the Foundation’s mission.  

In closing, I would like to express how thankful and grateful we are to have such insightful and generous friends; friends who truly understand the importance of investing in the not-for-profit mission of Winter Haven Hospital and Mid-Florida Medical Services.  Ultimately its these friends and their investments that will assure we all continue to have access to the best healthcare available.  Please join us today and find out how you can help. For more information on how you can help improve local healthcare please call the  Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation at (863) 291-6732.

Sincerely,

Richard Straughn
Chairman, Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation