Community Health Network Foundation

We are proud to announce four local high-school seniors have each been awarded a $3,000 It’s Our Community scholarship, which will help them earn a college healthcare degree.

This year’s recipients are:

• Mary Christy of Noblesville High School, studying biomedical engineering/pre-med at Purdue University
• Brooklyn LaMar of Center Grove High School, studying nursing at IUPUI
• Annalyssa Long of Warren Central High School, studying psychology/pre-med at Indiana University
• Weston Wright of Avon High School, studying biology/pre-med at IUPUI

Community’s It’s Our Community Healthcare Scholarship Program began in 2004 as way to develop Indiana’s health and life science workforce by encouraging Indiana college students to earn a degree and seek long-term employment in Indiana. During the past nine years, Community Health Network Foundation has funded $237,000 in It’s Our Community scholarships given to 79 students.

Congratulations!

Community Health Network Foundation’s annual Employee Giving Campaign has begun, and Community’s employees are making donations during the month of May to support our patients, employees and the Central Indiana communities we proudly serve. Learn more >>

We created a video showcasing how donors are helping us support patients, caregivers and Central Indiana communities. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OALtJMUJisM&list=UUJA54SrrVv7qRrEQSPVJ8Ug&index=6&feature=plcp

We have released our Impact Report, a look-back at the big impacts our family of donors made in 2011. The report tells how $1.5 million was used to support patients, caregivers and local communities. Read the full report >>

Bente Weitekamp has been appointed vice president of development for Community Health Network Foundation and will begin her new executive position on January 9.  She will be responsible for leading fundraising strategies that allow donors to support Community Health Network’s mission to enhance central Indiana’s health and well-being.

A successful Purdue University fundraiser for more than seven years, Bente most recently served as a director of advancement for the College of Science, where she led a team that annually raised more than $17 million. She also previously held a director of development role for the university’s Biological Sciences and Statistics departments, where she raised nearly $10 million in three years. A graduate of Ball State University, she also earned a master of arts in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.

Michele Thomas Dole, Community Health Network Foundation president and CEO, said Bente brings a wealth of fundraising talent and leadership to Community.

“Bente is a proven fundraiser with extensive experience in donor cultivation, solicitation and stewardship,” Michele said. “She is a strong addition to our team, with ethical standards and a donor-first philosophy that will support our efforts to build relationships with donors interested in helping the patients who need us.”

Bente is a dedicated civic volunteer, serving as a board member for Ball State University’s Cardinal Fund and the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation. She is also a volunteer for Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and the Lafayette Urban Ministry. She is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Indiana Chapter.

Welcome, Bente!

A message from Bryan Mills, Community Health Network President and CEO

It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of one of the best friends Community Health Network has ever had—John W. “Jack” Heiney, who passed away over the weekend. And it is with tremendous gratitude that I honor his four decades of service to our organization and our community.

He was invited to take a volunteer position on the Community Hospital board in 1970, while he was president and CEO of Indiana Gas Company. He has been a part of the Community family ever since. At age 70, he retired from the hospital board to become chairman of the Community Health Network Foundation, and he also was an original board member for VEI. He continued to serve on the foundation and VEI boards until his death. Without his tireless service and incredible vision, Community would be a far different place today.

Jack Heiney was the most remarkable storyteller I’ve ever met. He could go back and, in exquisite detail, tell you stories that happened when he was a kid, when he was in the war, when he was in business. He shared the story from his childhood of being in the Yankees’ locker room and meeting Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He also could vividly recall the three times during World War II that he had personal encounters with George Patton.

I asked him where he learned management, and he told me that during the war he was given the responsibility of building and managing a POW camp—it initially had 5,000 POWs and it grew from there. He was given almost nothing to work with but got the job done—he said that’s where he learned to manage. Another important piece of that story: He found out that of those POWs, many of the women were pregnant and would deliver at his camp. He was concerned that at such an intimate time and special moment, they would not have privacy. So, he walled off an area to create a birthing room, because he thought everybody deserved privacy at that special, special time of life. That gives you a feel for his heart. It was so representative of Jack.

Next to my father, Jack was probably the biggest influence on my life, because he took me under his wing. He taught me to listen, he taught me to care, but most important, he taught me to be decisive and to take risks. He said, “Bryan, there will always be consequences—some of them will be good and some will be bad, but none of those risks is greater than indecisiveness.”

The mark that he left on Community Health Network has been profound. Consider, for example, his belief that the northeast side of the Indianapolis metropolitan area would be an area of significant growth. He was a champion of an idea that some thought was risky—the purchase of 100 acres of land in Castleton. Today, that site is home to Community Hospital North, The Indiana Heart Hospital and many other Community services, providing outstanding access to health care in an area that has been among the nation’s fastest-growing.

Consider, as well, the tremendous support the network and our employees have received in the quarter century he served on the Community Health Network Foundation board. And think about the growth Community has enjoyed—and the hundreds of thousands of lives we’ve touched—through the pioneering work of VEI… work that Jack Heiney’s vision and wisdom helped to shape. His four decades of service have been so important and influential that he was honored earlier this year by the Indianapolis Business Journal as the 2011 “Health Care Hero” in the volunteer category.

Jack Heiney would have been 98 today (November 9, 2011), and yet he still attended just about every foundation and VEI board meeting. Beyond the wealth of time and talent that he shared, he and his wife, Betty, also were incredibly generous in their financial support of Community. A 2009 donation of $1 million is the largest gift in our organization’s history, and the foundation’s planned giving society is named after Jack and Betty Heiney, as is the recently expanded patient tower at Community North.

Perhaps the greatest gift we’ve received from Jack has been his example—a life of service truly embodying our mission of commitment to the health and well-being of the communities we serve. As he put it, “I thought I could make a contribution to my fellow man,” and he set out to do just that, using his own unique talents to make an amazing difference.

With that in mind, I believe the most fitting tribute we can pay to this incredible friend of Community is to view his remarkable life as an inspiration… to realize that our own gifts and talents—whatever they may be—can make a world of difference… and then to commit ourselves to serving others in the spirit that Jack Heiney lived.

You may be interested in attending memorial services for Jack. The services will be held on Monday, November 14. Calling/visitation will be at 10 a.m., with the funeral at 11 a.m. at Flanner and Buchanan, 1305 Broad Ripple Ave. Gifts made to honor Jack can be made through Community Health Network Foundation by clicking here.

To read the Indianapolis Business Journal’s coverage of Jack Heiney, 2011 “Health Care Hero,” please click here. To view a video of Mr. Heiney’s remarks at the “Health Care Heroes” award ceremony, please click here.

Many donors can make a 2011 charitable gift straight from an IRA

The IRA Charitable Rollover is great news for people age 70 ½ and over who want to make a gift to Community Health Network Foundation and satisfy required minimum distributions from their retirement plans.

Here are the nuts and bolts:

• A simple, one-step distribution that you authorize directs money from your IRA straight to Community Health Network Foundation

• The distribution counts toward fulfilling your required minimum distribution from your IRA.

• The distribution is excluded from your gross income for federal tax purposes—a real advantage at tax time!

• Most important of all, you make an immediate impact on our work to save lives, fund medical innovation, and transform health care.

There are certain conditions that apply. For example, the total rollover amount is limited to $100,000 per donor for the tax year. And, there is no eligible income tax deduction for the distribution to us because the gift comes from IRA funds that have never been taxed.

Let us know how we can help.

You may have some questions about the IRA Charitable Rollover.

• How do I choose a rollover amount?

• Can I choose the programs I would like to support?

• How can I put my IRA Charitable Rollover in motion?

We can help. Simply call us at 317-355-4661 or email us at give@eCommunity.com

 Be sure to always consult your tax and financial advisers when considering any planned gift.

Borrowed from an IRS newsletter we recieve, here are ten summertime tax tips from the IRS.

Did you make a donation to a charity this year? If so, you may be able to take a deduction for it on your 2010 tax return.

Here are the top 10 things the IRS wants every taxpayer to know before deducting charitable donations.

1. Charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations to be deductible. You can ask any organization whether it is a qualified organization and most will be able to tell you. You can also check IRS Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations, which lists most qualified organizations. IRS Publication 78 is available at IRS.gov.
2. Charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form 1040, Schedule A.
3. You generally can deduct your cash contributions and the fair market value of most property you donate to a qualified organization. Special rules apply to several types of donated property, including clothing or household items, cars and boats.
4. If your contribution entitles you to receive merchandise, goods, or services in return – such as admission to a charity banquet or sporting event – you can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received.
5. Be sure to keep good records of any contribution you make, regardless of the amount. For any contribution made in cash, you must maintain a record of the contribution such as a bank record – including a cancelled check or a bank or credit card statement – a written record from the charity containing the date and amount of the contribution and the name of the organization, or a payroll deduction record.
6. Only contributions actually made during the tax year are deductible. For example, if you pledged $500 in September but paid the charity only $200 by Dec. 31, your deduction would be $200.
7. Include credit card charges and payments by check in the year they are given to the charity, even though you may not pay the credit card bill or have your bank account debited until the next year.
8. For any contribution of $250 or more, you must have written acknowledgment from the organization to substantiate your donation. This written proof must include the amount of cash and a description and good faith estimate of value of any property you contributed, and whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift.
9. To deduct charitable contributions of items valued at $500 or more you must complete a Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and attached the form to your return.
10. An appraisal generally must be obtained if you claim a deduction for a contribution of noncash property worth more than $5,000. In that case, you must also fill out Section B of Form 8283 and attach the form to your return.

For more information see IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, and for information on determining value, refer to Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. These publications are available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676)

With support from donors, Community Health Network is implementing an education and observation project to reduce medication errors and protect patients.

$19,000 allocated from Community Health Network Foundation’s Allen Hicks and Pharmacy Funds is helping to fund the AU MEDS observational method for the detection and documentation of medication process errors. Both funds invest in education, research and technology efforts that support Community’s mission to enhance health and well-being.

AU MEDS is a proven peer review technique that was invented by Dr. Ken Barker and Dr. Betsy Flynn at Auburn University.  AU MEDS utilizes the observation based method of medication error detection to help improve medication safety at the patient’s bedside.

Dr. Barker, recognized internationally as one of the foremost authorities on medication dispensing and administration accuracy and the Director of the Center for Pharmacy Operations and Designs at Auburn University, developed AU MEDS after more than 40 years of research.

Community is one of several United States hospitals and skilled-nursing centers utilizing AU MEDS.

How it works

Community caregivers were trained to use the observation method and supporting technology. Trained nurses observe other nurses administering medication during peak workload periods in selected patient areas.

These bedside observations are recorded and compared to the patients’ charts to identify any discrepancies between the observed administration and the physician’s orders. This review is then entered into the AU MEDS software and the nurse/observer meets with the observed nurse to validate any discrepancies as errors and to solicit assistance in seeking “clues to cause”.

The use of the observation method will allow Community to identify faulty processes, recommend systems changes and then evaluate the impact of the changes. The observation method also reveals opportunities for focused follow-up studies.