Virginia Park: Creating a Transformative Legacy
One woman’s gift had the power to change Swedish Hospital; a transformative legacy that continues to provide for the patients, staff and community. Ms. Virginia Park was an annual donor who passed away in 2005 and gifted Swedish with the largest endowment in the hospital’s history. This generous and visionary gift provided the impetus for a dramatic change—the establishment of Swedish Hospital Foundation in 2006. The Foundation is an independent legal entity (501c3), with its own governing Board of Directors who decide where the funds are invested and how and where funds will be given away.
The interest of the endowment has been funding various programs (such as Pathways) since its inception in 2006. Because Virginia Park’s wish was to establish an endowment, the Foundation was created with the intent to exist in perpetuity; to give back funds to the hospital in support of new and existing initiatives as long as the Foundation exists. In this way, it has become a living organization with a focus on the future of Swedish Hospital.
In the years since its inception, Swedish Hospital Foundation has awarded over 9 million dollars to seed program initiatives and staff-led projects throughout the hospital. From funding small requests such as compression bandages and pieces of equipment to the construction of an entire dental clinic, Virginia Park’s legacy gift has made an indelible mark on thousands of patients and staff members hospital-wide. This year, the Foundation Board awarded 1.3 million to over 16 projects, a sampling of which include:
Mini-Med School Mentorship: Is a summer program which provides underserved high school the opportunity to learn about clinical medicine through interactive lectures and discussion sessions. Last year’s pilot camp was so successful, that our medical staff asked to expand the offerings to include a hands-on/mentorship component. During the summer of 2022, each participating high school student will be paired with a Medical Residents at Swedish Hospital for a one-on-one mentorship throughout the course of the program.
Food Connections: To grow the program by adding more resources and staff to assist more patients who are food insecure. With rising food costs and the prolonged COVID pandemic, many people are having a difficult time feeding themselves or their families and obtaining healthy, nutritious food on a tight budget can be challenging. With funding from the Foundation, the Food Connections program will be able to serve more food insecure patients by adding more food, supplies and staff time to the existing program.
Dental Clinic: Originally established by funding from the Foundation, the dental clinic serves many underserved patients referred from the emergency department. As the need within the community continues to grow, so too is the need to expand the clinic’s services. Continued funding will ensure that the program can continue and patients in need get the dental care they require.
As Virginia Park has shown us, even the actions of one selfless person can have an enormous ripple effect on a large organization. Virginia Park’s gift allowed Swedish Hospital to establish the Swedish Hospital Foundation which, in turn, has impacted thousands of individuals through millions of dollars of funding for innovative programs and ideas-- many of which are still in place today. Her gift allowed us to attract other like-minded individuals wanting to leave a legacy of good, which led us to create the Heritage Society, comprised of other individuals who have left Swedish Hospital in their estates.
You too can make a difference in the lives of our diverse patient population. If you would like to receive more information on how you can leave a legacy of caring please contact Jennifer Blitz at jblitz@schosp.org or 773-989-6255.