GRMC Honors Key Supporters Through Comprehensive Campaign

Grinnell Regional Medical Center is in the beginning of a comprehensive campaign to raise $7.5 million by the year 2017, when the medical center will celebrate its 50^th anniversary of service.

The campaign, entitled “Moving at the Speed of Life,” will enhance services, facilities, and technology at GRMC to meet the healthcare needs of the community today and in the future while also supporting annual needs of the medical center.

“Life happens when you are not looking,” says Dan Agnew, a GRMC volunteer who is co-chairing the campaign with Debby Pohlson, Nicholas Kuiper, DO, and John Bambara, MD. “The staff at GRMC literally moves at the speed of life to help our patients on a daily basis, no matter how slow or fast it moves—because every second counts, every moment matters.”

Four noted individuals are being recognized as honorary co-chairs of the campaign for their extraordinary commitment to GRMC. They are Jewel Kintzinger-Day, the late Marion Jones, Leila Maring, and Waldo Walker.

“These four individuals have been steadfast supporters of GRMC and have always demonstrated that true success is in helping others,” says Todd C. Linden, GRMC president and CEO. “We feel it important to recognize each of them for their vital and extraordinary volunteer work on behalf of the organization over the years.”

Since the Kintzinger family arrived in Grinnell in 1969, Jewel Kintzinger Day has been an active and ardent supporter of GRMC. Day has always believed that the hospital is one of the most important features of the community and that every effort should be made to improve it. With her good friend Marion Jones, the two managed the hospital gift shop for years and were a driving force in increasing patient care and satisfaction. Day and her family have been generous supporters of GRMC with their time and monetary contributions. The Kintzinger Women’s Health Center is a tribute to her family as benefactors and volunteers.

As the first female president of the hospital’s board of directors, Marion Jones led the organization through crucial decisions about the future of hospital services, and the focus on outpatient care, which has since proven to be a successful direction for the hospital. At a time when other hospitals were forced to close because they could not adapt to the change in the provision of healthcare, Jones led the board of directors and the organization into the medical center we know today. The Jones family, led by Marion’s husband, Addison, continues her legacy of commitment to GRMC.

Leila Maring has been involved with GRMC since 1948 as a nurse. Until her retirement in 1990, Maring worked in almost every department. One of her favorite positions was as a scrub nurse in surgery. From 1970 to 1990, Maring was a Poweshiek County Public Health and home health nurse. She was part of the first hospice board in 1982 and an original member of the SE*ED steering committee. She became the first hospital trustee on the GRMC Board of Directors with a nursing background, bringing new insight to the board. Her many contributions earned her the title of Modern Healthcare’s 2006 Trustee of the Year for small healthcare organizations nationwide.  Leila continues to serve today on the GRMC Foundation Board.

Waldo Walker served the hospital board for more than 16 years. No other trustee before or since has served as a member of the GRMC Board of Directors longer. To the medical center, Walker contributed his strong skills in management and overall knowledge of the Grinnell area and its people. He first joined the board in 1989, served as the chair from 1993 to 1994, and served until 2007. He rejoined the board in 2000 and served until 2011. Walker also served on the GRMC Foundation Board for 12 years.

The Moving at the Speed of Life campaign will raise funds for seven important projects, including the:

§  Extensive renovation of the emergency department to modernize it.

§  Creation of a walk-in clinic.

§  Building of a new chemotherapy and infusion department.

§  Purchase of a state-of-the-art daVinci^® surgical robotic system and new CT scanner.

§  Renovation of Postels Community Health Park to accommodate GRMC’s growing wellness program.

§  Development of an endowment for the new Grinnell Regional Mental Health Center.

Campaign volunteers are currently focusing their efforts on raising funds from businesses, corporations, and foundations. Plans are to begin soliciting individuals later this year and in 2014. To date, the medical center has raised about $2.1 million toward the $7.5 million needed to complete the projects.

For more information about Moving at the Speed of Life: A Comprehensive Campaign for GRMC, contact Denise Lamphier, GRMC director of communications and development, at 641-236-2589 or dlamphier@grmc.us.