“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
--Theodore Roosevelt
                                                           

ABOUT THE MERCY FOUNDATION

Incorporated in October 1999, The Mercy Foundation was created as a charitable organization with the purpose of raising funds for the benefit of Mercy Hospital & Health Care Center in Moose Lake, MN.  Mercy serves nearly 12,000 households in the Moose Lake Community Hospital District, a geographic area that covers all of northern Pine and southern Carlton counties.

The Mercy Foundation is an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Gifts made to the Foundation are tax deductible.  The Mercy Foundation Federal ID Number is 41-1956174.

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors who serve on a volunteer basis.  It has one part-time employee who oversees day-to-day activities.

WHERE WE GET THE MONEY

The Mercy Foundation began its fundraising efforts in August of 2000, setting a goal of raising $250,000 by September 30, 2003, the close of its third fiscal year. To date, the Foundation has raised nearly $400,100 through the generosity of its many friends and neighbors in the service area, and even from some who have moved beyond its borders.  In addition, many people have begun to make gifts to The Mercy Foundation in memory of a loved one, to celebrate a great happy occasion in their lives, or in tribute to another person.

In the third week of June, The Mercy Foundation hosts its major fundraising event, the Midsummer Festival.  The Festival consists of an 18-hole golf tournament on Friday, and a Dinner Dance and Silent Auction the next day.  Through sponsorships, tickets sales and the donation of wonderful gifts and prizes, The Midsummer Festival is fast becoming a highlight of the early summer season and a most enjoyable way to enhance The Foundation’s financial position.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE WITH THE MONEY?

So far, The Mercy Foundation has been able to underwrite the costs of several significant purchases for Mercy Hospital & Health Care Center:

• A bladder scanner for the Health Care Center
• Handicap adapted outdoor furniture for the Health Care Center
• Retrofitting of an office to a dedicated Chemotherapy Room in the Hospital and Materials for Mercy’s Chemotherapy Library
• Furnishings for the new Ford Family Waiting Room in the Hospital
• Various supplies for Mercy’s new Surgical Center
• The creation of a new Incontinence Program through the Physical Therapy Department
• Furnishings for Mercy’s new Education Center
• Furnishings, art and equipment for the 2004 Birthing Center Renovation
• Training for Mercy’s Venous Edema program
• Expansion of Mercy’s Health Professions Program for high school students

WHAT WILL WE DO IN THE FUTURE?

 Many projects, large and small, are brought to The Mercy Foundation for consideration. Some requests can be satisfied easily; others take more financial planning.

In fiscal 2006, The Foundation will make the last payment of its three-year pledge to underwrite the cost of all the framed art installed in the public spaces of our Health Care Center.  We are happy to enhance the lives and the care of all individuals in our service area, from the youngest to the oldest.  We know their families appreciate it, too.  It’s how we are able to benefit the entire community we serve.

New technology continues to create ways to provide more safety and efficiency in all areas of health care delivery.  In 2006, The Mercy Foundation purchased a computerized, heat-set labeling system for our laundry area.  Gone are the days of hand-coding each garment and bed sheet; now our laundry creates labels at the same time an on-line inventory is updated.

America’s fitness challenge—obesity—has far-reaching effects in many of the daily activities in a healthcare delivery system.  One of the areas that is challenged by dealings with overweight patients is Mercy’s ambulance crew.  Our first responders were manually lifting 300-500 pounds of patient, equipment and gurney routinely.  A gift from The Mercy Foundation enabled them to purchase a state-of-the-art gurney with a built-in hydraulic lift.  Once the patient is secured, the mechanics of the gurney do the heavy lifting.  It’s better for everyone—patient and ambulance personnel alike.

In addition to these one-time gifts, The Mercy Foundation has undertaken partial funding of a collaborative effort with our local schools to expand the Mercy’s Health Occupations Program for local high school students.  Students come to Mercy for this course, which is designed to give them exposure to the vast array of career possibilities in the health care field, to let them see what it really takes to run a hospital and health care center and to give them marketable care-giving skills by preparing them to sit for State Boards in order to be certified first responders or nursing assistants.

 The program, which had initially been offered to high school seniors at Moose Lake or Barnum High Schools, was expanded to include high school juniors in the 2005-2006 academic year.  When school starts in September 2006, qualifying juniors and seniors from all four high schools in Mercy’s service area (Barnum, Cromwell, Moose Lake and Willow River), will be eligible to participate in Mercy’s Health Occupations Program.

In addition to providing on-going financial support for this program, The Foundation’s Board of Directors recently created The Mercy Foundation Scholarship Program.  Each year, each of the four high schools in Mercy’s service area will receive $1,000 to be awarded to one or two qualifying students whose plans include further study in any of the allied medical or dental fields or in medical science.  

We’re busy, and our work never stops—and we like it that way!  We consider it an honor to participate in this enrichment of services and to support Mercy’s guiding principle of “Caring for our community, one person at a time.”  Please join us!