Focused on improving patient care for the past three decades

MaryBeth Matzek

Contributor

July 15, 2024

GREEN BAY – For the past 30 years, the Bellin Health Foundation, Inc. has been focused on improving patient care at Bellin Health – whether it is through supporting new facilities or paying for a cancer patient’s Uber ride so he or she can get to their treatments.

“The foundation’s focus is all about improving the care Bellin provides to its patients, which can be through several ways – whether it’s supporting a capital campaign, providing education support to our employees or helping patients with some basic needs,” Foundation President Molly Vandervest said.

A local focus

Vandervest said the foundation – which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 20204 – was created in 1994 as a separate 501(c)(3) organization to support the services provided by the nonprofit Bellin Health system. 

Though Bellin recently merged with Gundersen Health System, she said the foundation remained a separate organization – ensuring funds raised locally would stay in the community. 

“We are here to help Bellin better serve the community,” she said.

One of the ways the foundation does this, Vandervest said, is through large capital projects.

Two recent projects receiving foundation support, she said, include the 2020 renovation of the maternity ward and the addition of a NICU at Bellin Hospital – and the construction of the Children & Adolescent Center being built in Ashwaubenon.

The Children & Adolescent Center will be the first of its kind in Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula, which Vandervest said will enable Bellin to provide local access to children and adolescent specialists from Children’s Wisconsin.

Opening in fall 2025, Vandervest said the center’s services will include pediatrics, adolescent-specialized care, mental health, area-focused autism care and in-demand specialty care.

“That project will save families from traveling to Milwaukee for their children’s care, which can mean taking time off from work, finding care for other children plus the additional cost of gas,” she said.

Supporting large capital projects, Vandervest said, is one way the foundation improves patient care.

Smaller projects, such as improving the gym for patients in Bellin’s in-patient psychiatric unit, she said, also go a long way in supporting the community.

Vandervest said the foundation helped raise the funds for the project through Give BIG Green Bay.

“It will make a big difference because providing a place for patients to move around and get exercise will help with the healing process,” she said.

In northern Wisconsin, Vandervest said funds are being raised to assist Bellin Health Oconto Hospital and rural clinics in Crivitz, Daggett, Lakewood, Marinette, Oconto, Oconto Falls, Peshtigo, Suring and Menominee, Michigan.

Funds raised in the Oconto area, she said, remain in the area.

Employee support

Vandervest said the foundation also provides support to Bellin employees through programs like the Dr. Alan F. and Ruth C. Wentworth Education Fund – which supports educational travel, including training and conference opportunities for Bellin Health cardiac team members.

Started by the Wentworths in 1998, the fund became the foundation’s first endowed scholarship.

The goals for the fund, Vandervest said, are threefold:

• Contribute to grow the personal development for cardiac care team members
• Give hardworking staff time away from the workplace to learn
• Enable Bellin Health to provide better patient care

The foundation, Vandervest said, also offers scholarships for healthcare professionals looking to advance their careers or pursue further education.

In addition to the Dr. Alan F. and Ruth C. Wentworth Education Fund, additional cardiac scholarships include the Dr. Howard J. Palay Continuing Education Scholarship Fund and the Karl and Barbara Schwiesow Cardiac Nursing Education Fund.

Information on other scholarships in various areas of focus – including digestive health, maternal and infant health, nursing, oncology, orthopedics and sports medicine and support staff – is available at bellin.org.

Patient support

The foundation’s Patient Assistance Fund, Vandervest said, is a project close to her heart.

The fund, which was the beneficiary of the foundation’s most recent Black Tie and Blue Jean Extravaganza fundraising event, assists patients with various needs.

Vandervest said the fund helped support a cancer patient who needed an Uber ride to get to treatment and an emergency room patient who needed a new pair of shoes.

Community support

The foundation, Vandervest said, has three areas of focus, including meeting with donors and increasing philanthropy, writing grants to receive additional funds from larger foundations and organizations and increasing volunteerism. 

“There are many ways people can give back, including volunteering,” she said. “At the hospital, we have volunteers who escort patients to where they need to go. Having another person reduces the patient’s anxiety and helps them be more calm.”

Opportunities for patients-facing volunteering, Vandervest said, include:

• Pharmacy aide
• Service assistant
• Hospital support
• BEAM volunteer
• Clerical support
• Gift shop volunteer

Other volunteer opportunities are available at community events, including the Bellin Run, the Bellin Women’s Half Marathon, the Two-Person Relay & 5K or the Marinette 5K Heart Run/Walk.

Vandervest said the foundation continues to look for opportunities for people to get involved with Bellin.

“Major gifts are important but so are having volunteers who are there for our patients,” she said.

More information on volunteer opportunities, Vandervest said, is available online.

In addition to time, she said folks can also donate funds to the foundation through various giving opportunities, such as:

• Gifts of securities – such as stocks or annuities
• Bequests – donations made as a part of the donor’s will and set up during the estate planning process
• Charitable remainder trusts – donating tax-exempt income over a set amount of time
• Endowments – gifts intended to be used for a specific, predetermined purpose
• Memorial and tribute gifts – a gift in memory of someone
• Legacy society – name Bellin Health as the ultimate beneficiary of a planned gift

More details can be found on the foundation’s website.

“We are grateful for our dedicated donors, partners, volunteers and staff who make our projects and programs possible,” Vandervest said.

A peek at leadership

The foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors that works closely with the administrative staff at Bellin Health.

“We are fortunate to utilize the unique skills and influence of community members who believe in our mission and vision,” Vandervest said.

Current members of the board, in addition to Vandervest, include:

• Susan Van Gheem (chairperson) – partner, CEO, Pension, Inc.
• Kristin Charles (vice chairperson) – owner, Charles Business Consulting 
• Michong Powers (treasurer) – registered nurse, Bellin Health, ICU department
• James Ledvina (secretary) – attorney, Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry
• Chris Woleske – Bellin Region president 
• Paul Casey – Green Bay Emergency Medicine Services  
• Matt Schachtner – president/principal architect, Somerville Architects and Engineers
• Lynn Douville – principal/COO, The Karma Group
• Mark Kasper – CEO, Amerhart
• David Honish – agency administrator, CESA 8
• Paul Northway – president/CEO, American National Bank Fox Cities
• Riley Smith – physician, Radiology Chartered
• Bradley Burmeister – physician, Green Bay Emergency Medicine Services

In addition to Vandervest’s role of president, the foundation staff is made up of an executive assistant, regional development specialist, team leader of volunteer services, foundation and volunteer coordinator, team leader grants, post-award grants administrator and a grant support associate.

Vandervest, who previously served as the foundation’s vice president, said she took over as the foundation’s president May 1, replacing longtime leader Nan Bush, who retired.

She originally joined Bellin Health in March 2020 and served as the regional team leader for employer clinics before joining the foundation.

Before her current role, Vandervest said she led the health system’s community response to COVID-19, the Bellin Love employee giving program, the “Changing Healthcare, Changing Lives” capital campaign and helped create a strategic plan to move the foundation forward.

“I loved working under Nan,” she said. “She was gracious in her departure and preparing me for the role. It’s an honor for me to lead such a great organization.”

Before joining Bellin, Vandervest served in fundraising and community development roles for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Athletic Department and Downtown Green Bay, Inc.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism/strategic communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in applied leadership from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Vandervest also earned her certified fundraising executive credential and is a graduate of the Wisconsin Hospital Association Leadership Academy.