life-long Hanover resident who serves on Memorial Regional’s Community Advisory Board and recently joined the Foundation Board.

“Dr. Kaminsky is not only passionate about his work,” she said, “but he also has a sense of humor. And a little humor can be comforting to people when they are frightened.”

Something else that can bring comfort in a hospital is faith, said Brenda’s daughter, Mary Butler Eggleston.

“I sense that Bon Secours’ faith-based approach brings another dimension to patient care,” said Mary Butler.

Edna S. Hopkins’ family is passionate about a lot of things.

But community and family rise to the top of what matters most.

That’s part of the reason three generations of this family work together to make an impact in their community, said Brenda Hopkins Eggleston, Edna’s daughter.

Brenda and her children David and Mary Butler started the Cecil R. and Edna S. Hopkins Family Foundation in honor of Edna and in memory of Brenda’s father.

Their foundation generously supports a diverse group of organizations. “We all have different interests, but we all agree when it comes to giving,” said Brenda, describing how her family members collaborate on funding organizations and causes.

Edna recently made a generous gift to Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center that will help purchase a new high-tech system for cardiology patients.

“The ILUMIEN™ system makes a big difference in caring for patients with heart blockages,” said cardiologist Dr. Brian

Brenda Hopkins Eggleston and Dr. Brian Kaminsky share a smile at Memorial Regional Medical Center.

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BON SECOURS RICHMOND HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION Good Help to Those in Need®

THE SPIRITFrom the Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation

www.bsvaf.org/richmond

Giving From the Heart

Kaminsky. He has been using a system that is temporarily on loan from St. Jude Medical.

“It means we can see the inside of the heart with amazing detail,” said Kaminsky.

“We’ve had ultrasound technology for a long time, but looking through an ultrasound is like looking through a windshield on a rainy night compared to what we see with this machine.”

Commitment to Community Cardiac disease touched the family almost 12 years ago when Brenda’s father, Cecil Hopkins, died suddenly of a heart attack.

But Brenda’s interest in health care began long before that when she worked as a laboratory technician in her 20s.

“I have always cared about health care, but find it much more important to me as I get older,” Brenda said with a laugh. “I like living – and I want good health care where I live.”

“This hospital is in my community, and I like keeping things in Hanover,” said Brenda, a

giving makes good happen.

“Philanthropic support is so important. It allows us to adopt new technologies early – and that has

a big impact on our patients.” – Dr. Brian Kaminsky

Dr. Brian Kaminsky looks at an image of the

inside of the heart.

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with children on a daily basis. The loss of a child is devastating and this was a way for us to honor her.”

The Bon Secours Richmond Family Centers raised $27,000 through employee donations and five silent auctions in November.

These efforts endowed the scholarship so that the interest on the money raised will fund the scholarship each year. A selection committee will award a $1,000 scholarship to a teen volunteer at a Bon Secours Family Center or Bon Secours hospital.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the fund, you may donate online at www.bsvaf.org/nursingexcellence or mail your donation to:

Amber Nease Scholarship FundBon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation5875 Bremo Road, Suite 305Richmond, VA 23226

the Family Center,” said Tami Buckley, who worked with Amber at the center.

Amber’s mother Beth Nease, who was seriously injured in the accident, has since recovered. She serves as the administrative director of Professional Practice at Memorial Regional and Richmond Community. She leads efforts in those hospitals to promote and support nursing excellence.

“We wanted to have this scholarship in honor of Amber’s life as she was a teen volunteer at the Family Center,” said Buckley.

“It was important for us to do this in celebration of Amber’s life as we work

In an outpouring of love and support, a group of Bon Secours employees started a scholarship fund to honor the memory of a teenage volunteer – and help other young people.

Amber Nease, who volunteered at Bon Secours Memorial Regional Family Center, died in a car accident last July. She was 16 years old.

“Amber was a very kind and caring young lady. She always

had a smile on her face. She was kind to the children and enjoyed volunteering at

Scholarship Fund Remembers Young Volunteer

“Amber was a very kind and caring young lady. She always had a smile

on her face.”

Amber Nease was a

volunteer at the

Bon Secours Memorial

Regional Family Center.

Shelly A. Buck-Turner of St. Francis Medical

Center says that nurses learn the latest best

practices from around the world at the

Magnet Conference.®

Staying at the top of your field takes talent, but it also requires that you constantly stay on the cutting edge. Through the annual American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Conference®, our Bon Secours nurses learn the latest ways to better serve our patients and improve efficiencies.

“I believe that it is important for nurses to attend the Magnet Conference because they have the opportunity to learn best practices from Magnet facilities and colleagues … around the world,” said Shelly A. Buck-Turner, vice president for Patient Care Services at St. Francis Medical Center.

Foundation Helps Nurses Learn the Latest

In 2011, Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation helped send more than 60 nurses to the conference. About 7,000 nurses gather each year to share

evidenced-based practices — the very latest in nursing.

“This opportunity is such a valuable experience that will help us to continue

our growth as a world-class organization,” said Ashley K. Patterson, RN, BSN, Quality Management coordinator at Memorial Regional Medical Center.

“Working on the front lines, … nurses have a direct effect on patient care.”

– Institute of Medicine

Good Help to Those in Need®

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As a nursing student, Kimberly Meyers saw peers struggle financially. That prompted her and her husband Dave to support the Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing.

When Kimberly Meyers went back to school after 23 years with US Airways, and with three teenage children, the journey was not always easy.

“Sometimes you stretch yourself,” Meyers said. “I still attended most school functions and cooked dinner. That didn’t fall by the wayside.”

Still, Meyers saw that some of her fellow students at the Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing (now the College of Nursing) had even bigger challenges.

“I saw a number of students struggling financially, just with everyday necessities. I could see it was really threatening to derail their progress,” she said.

The experience prompted Meyers and her husband Dave to become donors to the Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation in support of the College of Nursing.

“I thought, ‘I really would like to give a donation to put the money to good use for students who were struggling,’” she said.

Second Career Nurse Gives BackMeyers knows firsthand that the Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing is an excellent investment.

“The Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing provided the best education. They had incredible instructors. I felt they were welcoming to older students and very inclusive,” Meyers said. “The longer I was there, the more I felt it was the right decision.”

Meyers, who graduated from nursing school in 2006, is now a liaison for Bon Secours Home Health. She said her move to

Bon Secours and her journey to become a nurse have been positive for her whole family.

“I found a paper my daughter wrote her senior year. She wrote that she was so inspired that her mother went back to school. I was over 40, raising a family, up late at night,” said Meyers.

“She wrote, ‘All the times I struggled, I thought if she could do it, I could do it,’” she said.

2nd Annual MRMC Nursing 5k Challenge Raise money for the Nursing Excellence Fund at Memorial Regional Medical Center

When: Saturday, May 12 at 9 a.m.

Where: Pole Green Park in Hanover

For more information visit: www.bsvaf.org/mrmc5k

“I thought, ‘I would really like to give a donation to put the money to good use for students who were struggling.’”

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Care Foundation supported charrettes for three of our hospital communities.

“We’ve had some wonderful outcomes as a result of the charrettes,” said Hewitt. “They yield terrific partnerships. Bon Secours alone cannot address all the issues; we must always be in partnership with others.”

Working with othersLisa Zajur, a Spanish language instructor and cultural expert, is helping Bon Secours employees better serve theregion’s growing Hispanic population.

“When people have a stressful medicalemergency, they often revert to speakingin their native language,” she said.

“But Bon Secours employees want more than language skills; they are very focusedon caring for the whole person, so theyare also learning to understand culturaldifferences.”

One of the most significant challenges Hewitt is focused on is the region’s growing obesity crisis. He is tackling the issue in partnership with many community groups including the nonprofit Tricycle Gardens.

“The food we eat has a tremendous impact on our health.  The increase in obesity and diabetes that is so prevalent

The most important thing Dougal Hewitt does is listen.

That’s because a big part of his job is to figure out how to make Richmond a healthier place.

“Understanding the needs of those we serve is at the core of who we are at Bon Secours,” said Hewitt, senior vice president of mission, Bon Secours Richmond.

“The original Sisters of Bon Secours went out into their community almost 200 years ago to understand how to help the sick,” he said. “And while we now use some high-tech tools, listening is still a core method for understanding how our community’s needs are evolving.”

To that end, Bon Secours uses a unique tool called a charrette - a week-long meeting where community members talk firsthand about the biggest challenges to health and give ideas for how to address them. The Bon Secours Richmond Health

A Listening Ear

In each issue of The Spirit, we introduce you to a Foundation board member or volunteer. Meet Dougal Hewitt, who plays an important role in helping Bon Secours listen – and respond – to the needs of our neighbors.

in our community and across the nation can be addressed by simply growing and eating healthy, local food,” said Sally Schwitters, executive director of Tricycle Gardens. “We are working with Bon Secours to show that there’s a better way to live.”

Listening to problems would get a lot of people down. But Hewitt sees hope in the people he meets inside and outside the hospitals’ walls.

“There is a growing interest in changing the status quo and people are starting to drive change,” he said. “We’re seeing it across the community – and that’s what keeps me going.”

“Understanding the issues is the first step in bringing health back to our communities,” said Dougal

Hewitt, whose job includes listening to Richmond-area residents for ideas on how Bon Secours can

help make the region healthier.

Bon Secours nurse Valene Gleason (right, with Spanish teacher Lisa Zajur) says she works with an

increasing number of Spanish-speaking patients so classes are very beneficial.

Bon Secours launched the Center for Healthy

Beginnings at Richmond Community Hospital

in response to the need for more resources

for babies and pregnant women. Program

participant Brandon Kenney flashes a smile.

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Good Help to Those in Need®

approached, she grew concerned about being away from her children while she recovered.

But Katz saved Christmas for the Pendleton family, coming to the hospital dressed as Santa Claus. He distributed gifts that he and his family had selected for the Pendletons.

“It was so neat to see the joy in my kids’ faces. It just took the pain away,” she said.

The Pendletons still consider Dr. Katz part of the family. They, along with some of his staff, completed a three-mile Heart Walk together in October.

“Dr. Katz is not only a great surgeon, he also has a terrific heart.”

Teresa Pendleton and her husband Todd were settling in at home with their 2-week-old baby just in time for the holidays. They looked forward to celebrating Christmas with their four children.

But one night she was awakened with severe chest pain. Terrified, she and her family rushed to the emergency department. They learned that the linings of three arteries had ruptured, leading to a massive heart attack.“We didn’t even know if I was going to make it,” said Pendleton.

Doctors repaired the arteries, but her heart was too weak to pump on its own, so cardiac surgeon Dr. Marc Katz installed a permanent heart pump.

Pendleton recovered for several weeks while her husband cared for their four children at home. As Christmas

“Philanthropic support for Bon Secours in Richmond began years ago with the building of St. Mary’s. We would not exist here in Virginia as we do today without those benefactors in Richmond. We are trying to repay those original gifts across the region as we work to restore health to the community.” -Dougal Hewitt

Doctors Making a Difference

“Understanding the issues is the first step in bringing health back to our communities,” said Dougal

Hewitt, whose job includes listening to Richmond-area residents for ideas on how Bon Secours can

help make the region healthier.

Bon Secours nurse Valene Gleason (right, with Spanish teacher Lisa Zajur) says she works with an

increasing number of Spanish-speaking patients so classes are very beneficial.

March 30 is National Doctors’ Day.

The Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation salutes our physicians for the extraordinary care they

share every day.

To honor a doctor who made a difference for you, log on to www.bsvaf.org/doctorsday or call 804-287-7700.

Good Help to Those in Need®

Dr. Katz joins Pendleton and her family in

the lobby of St. Mary’s Hospital.

Countless Bon Secours physicians transform the lives of their patients with extraordinary care. In honor of National Doctors’ Day, March 30, we share one moving story from a patient of Dr. Marc

Katz, chief medical officer of the Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute in Richmond.

Dr. Katz joined Pendleton, her husband Todd

and Bon Secours nurse practitioner Lisa

Austin for a heart walk.

doing wonderful work raising money for research. But they are unable to give directly to families like we are able to do,” said Smith.

“We hope that this helps families stay together and focus more on each other and less on finances during such an unknowing and trying time,” she said.

A place to stay The Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation is putting money toward a room in a new guest house planned for the St. Mary’s Hospital campus. Families with a child in the NICU will be able to stay in a private bedroom with access to a kitchen and community room. They will also be able to draw support from others at the house.

Giving back by raising money for the guest house, managing the Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation and supporting families with babies in NICUs is a labor of love for the Smiths. They are also managing their busy careers.

And, one more person keeps them busy: their healthy, young son, Matthew.

help families with children in Richmond-area Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

EducationTeaching women about preterm labor risks and symptoms is central to the Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation’s work.

“Preterm labor can occur in any pregnancy, and it is very important for pregnant women to be aware of the signs and symptoms. It does not just occur in pregnancies with multiples; it can happen even if you have had a normal pregnancy in the past,” said Smith.

Financial SupportHaving a child in a NICU is not only emotionally and physically draining, it can also be financially stressful because of the unexpected and unavoidable costs.

The Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation pays for child care for older children, hotel rooms, food and transportation, which is especially important for families who live far from a major hospital.

“There are so many great organizations out there, like the March of Dimes,

Stefanie and Karl Smith were thrilled when they learned she was pregnant with twins.

But at just 24 weeks pregnant, Smith learned at a routine prenatal visit that her cervix was already dilated. Though her doctor put her on bed rest, nine days later Jack and Abby were born.

The Smiths watched in shock as their babies struggled to survive. Abby passed away at 13 days old and Jack followed her 12 days later.

While many would remain paralyzed by the loss, the Smiths decided to draw on their experience to help others.

Three years later, their Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation is making a big difference by increasing awareness of preterm labor risks and raising money to

Turning Hurt into Help for Others

Stefanie and Karl Smith raise money to support families with children in NICUs through their

Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation. They hold their son, Matthew.

To learn moreor make a donation,

visit

www.bsvaf.org/supportjackandabby.

You can designate your

gift specifically for the

St. Mary’s Hospital NICU.

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“We hope that this helps families stay together and focus more on each other and less on finances during such an unknowing and trying time.”

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2012 Board of Directors

The Bon Secours Richmond Health Care

Foundation owes much gratitude and

thanks to our Board of Directors. Below is

a list of our current board members who

donate their time and resources, which

contribute to our success.

Toni R. Ardabell

Jenna J. Atwood

Kathleen Burke Barrett

Peter J. Bernard

Carmella Maurizi Bladergroen

William C. Boinest, Chair

Peter W. Brown, MD

Diana F. Cantor

Barry J. Case

Dennis A. Diersen

Brenda Hopkins Eggleston

Andrew C. Foldenauer

May H. Fox

Peter F. Gallagher

Kirsti Anne Goodwin

Vernard W. Henley

Dougal G. Hewitt

Charles M. Jones III, MD

Sr. Charlotte Lange, OSB

J. Stephen Lindsey

Charles (Greg) G. Lockhart, MD

Bonita J. Makdad, MD

Sr. Anne Marie Mack, CBS

John J. Muldowney

William T. Patrick Jr.

Nancy A. Plageman

Malcolm M. Randolph

Corbin K. Rankin

J. Sargeant Reynolds Jr.

Linda F. Rigsby

William H. Schwarzschild III

Linda K. Seeman, Ph.D.

John N. Simpson Sr.

Thomas W. Sokol

William B. Thalhimer III

Paul M. Thompson

James S. Watkinson

Marilyn H. West

D. Kyle Woolfolk Jr.

Jack and Abby Neonatal Foundation’s

3rd Annual Jack & Abby

5K Race for the NICU

We are grateful foryour generosity.

With your support, we bring more good help to those in need.

Thank you.

For more, visit www.bsvaf.org/fleurdelis.

We’ll start the race with a butterfly release. Buy a butterfly to support the cause.

Saturday, June 23

Innsbrook Picnic Area • Glen Allen

1-mile Kids Fun Run & 5K Race

Visit www.bsvaf.org/supportjackandabby for more.

Please Join Us

The Bon Secours Fleur-de-Lis Society

Spring is approaching and our beautiful Virginia landscape is beginning to blossom. So in this issue of The Spirit, we celebrate the power of rebirth and renewal.

You’ll meet some amazing Richmonders who are turning hurt into help for others. Our cover story, “Giving From the Heart,” focuses on a donor who was touched by cardiac disease. You’ll learn about a nurse who gives back and a young couple making a difference for some of Richmond’s most vulnerable patients and their families.

We look at how Bon Secours Richmond Health System is bringing renewal to the health of our communities. “A Listening Ear,” on page 4, explains that we start by

understanding the issues. While we use modern technology, we still value the old-fashioned way of learning: face-to-face conversations.

Your generous giving directly supports our ability to understand and address community health issues. Thanks to you, we continue making progress in the Richmond region despite the challenging economy.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading about how your giving is making good happen.

May this spring bring you peace, joy and renewal.

A Time for Renewal

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BON SECOURS RICHMOND HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION

5875 Bremo Road, Suite 305

Richmond, Virginia 23226

(804) 287-7700 • www.bsvaf.org/richmond

Good Help to Those in Need®

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S.Postage PAID

RICHMOND, VAPERMIT #729

BON SECOURS RICHMOND HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION Good Help to Those in Need®