Campaign Blog

In the weeks and months that follow, I hope to keep you informed and inspired about how your support of The Campaign for Swedish is making a profound difference in the lives of our patients. In doing so, I hope you will come to appreciate why I think I have the best job in the world. What could be better than working with a group of generous, philanthropically minded people who are eager to promote quality healthcare, help others and share their good fortune in a way that has an immediate and direct impact on our community’s health?Subscribe

The New MS Center at Swedish Marks an Important Milestone for the MS Community

April 9 marked the opening of the new Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center at Swedish, a historic milestone for Swedish Medical Center and the Puget Sound MS community. The MS Center at Swedish is the largest, most comprehensive facility of its kind on the west coast and one of only a handful in the country. Take a virtual tour.

This center is the result of a shared effort between Swedish and the patient community that has been pushing for this kind of resource for nearly two decades. Outstanding philanthropic support has played a critical role in allowing Swedish to deliver a benchmark program that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible in today’s health care environment. More than $3.36 million in generous community support has been secured for the MS Center to date, including $642,500 raised for the project at Celebrate Swedish on May 12. Philanthropy continues to play an essential role in bringing the vision of a truly comprehensive MS center to life.

"Stretch” Your Gift to Swedish through GiveBIG!

As you may have heard, GiveBIG is on Wednesday May 2, and is a community-wide day of giving that will increase the size of your donation to the Swedish Medical Center Foundation. The goal of the Seattle Foundation's GiveBIG event is to inspire people to give generously to nonprofit organizations who make our region a healthier and more vital place to live. Last year during GiveBIG, $4.1 million was raised to support over 900 nonprofits in our community. We plan to be a part of this success again in 2012!

Swedish Medical Center Foundation enjoys fifth consecutive record-setting year

I have been remiss in keeping up with the Campaign blog, but for good reason: Year-end for a fundraiser is usually the busiest time of the year. The final two months of the year are often a flurry of activity—the Foundation team is busy proactively closing as many new gifts as possible while also responding to donors who are trying to make last-minute, tax-advantaged contributions before the December 31st deadline. This year saw an unprecedented level of giving during the final 61 days of the year….more than $7.5 million in new cash and pledges were received between November 1st and December 31st.

It's a new day at Swedish/ Edmonds

There’s a lot of great progress happening up at Swedish/Edmonds these days.

In June, David Jaffe, the former Executive Director and CEO of Harborview for 16 years, signed on as the new interim chief administrative officer for the campus. David took on this leadership role because of all the exciting opportunities at Swedish/Edmonds. And real changes are already happening. A master plan is being completed that lays out improvements to the campus over the next 10 years. These plans include a new emergency room, an expanded cancer center, and expanding the birthing services and critical care beds. The goal is to give our patients in the north the environment that best supports their health and our physicians and staff the facilities they deserve.

Help That Is Real And Practical

Swedish patient and breast cancer survivor, Christine Smith started Northwest Hope & Healing Foundation in 2000 when she realized how many women diagnosed with cancer face a shortfall at the end of the month for basic items like food, gas, daycare and rent. To date, the NW Hope & Healing Patient Assistance Fund has helped more than 1,300 women battling breast and gynecological cancer, with basic living expenses like food, gas & emergency rent payments.

Each year Swedish diagnoses and treats over 900 women with breast cancer, regardless of their ability to pay.

Saul Rivkin, M.D.: Passionate about Patients

One of the great privileges that I enjoy by working at Swedish is to meet some truly remarkable physicians. Not just doctors of tremendous talent who are national and international leaders in their specialty, but individuals who are selfless in their work and resolute in their dedication and care of their patients. A doctor that immediately comes to mind is Saul E. Rivkin, MD.

Creating a Lasting Legacy: The Story of Arnie Burland

A “planned gift” can be one of the most meaningful charitable gifts a person can make. But I’ve learned that many people—unless you are a CPA, estate planning attorney, or fundraiser—aren’t really certain how to define a planned gift. In broad terms, a planned gift can provide a donor with financial and/or tax benefits while also achieving their charitable goals. Making a planned gift involves deciding what you want your personal legacy to be, who should benefit, and who you trust to carry it out.

Healthier Health Care: It’s Not Easy Being Green

Did you know that in 2010 Swedish redirected 46% of all its waste away from landfills through recycling, composting and other efforts? Or that Swedish's new Issaquah campus was designed and constructed to be one of the most energy-efficient hospitals in the region (and possibly the country)? What about the assortment of local and organic food offered in Swedish's cafes?

A Life Saved

Bob McClesky is the CEO of Sellen Construction and a tremendous friend and supporter of Swedish, both Bob and Sellen have done a lot to support quality healthcare throughout the region. He suffered a frightening heart attack several weeks ago and received his treatment at Swedish Cherry Hill - he’s doing great now and Bob sent this email to his friends and contacts. I felt the email was so powerful and helpful, I’ve decided to share with you. Please take a moment to read his powerful story.

A Tribute to John Barrows

In my first two postings, I talked a lot about the process of fundraising, highlighting a partial list of characteristics that would allow an individual fundraiser or a fundraising team to be successful in generating gifts from the community. But why do we do what we do? The standard response is often something along the lines of “to support the mission” of the organization or to “help fulfill a vital need”. While both true—and important—if you dig deeper, it really comes down to helping people. Or more poignantly in healthcare, it comes down to helping one person. I’d like to briefly share the story of John Barrows and his family.

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Randy Mann