Madison, WI – Expanding upon SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Madison’s more than 110-year history of providing compassionate, Mission-based care in Dane County, SSM Health St. Mary’s Foundation - Madison is launching a bold campaign to provide more than $10 Million in philanthropic support to power the organization into a forward-looking era of advanced patient care.
Philanthropy has been integral to St. Mary’s Hospital and in fact, helped to build St. Mary’s Hospital more than a century ago when 8 religious sisters conducted a postcard campaign to raise the $25,000 necessary to reach the $150,000 needed for the construction of the original building. The last comprehensive campaign supported the hospital’s East Wing Expansion in 2008, which nearly doubled the hospital’s size, adding a rooftop helipad and cardiovascular surgical care suites.
Now, as the public phase of the Healing Hands campaign begins, philanthropy will once again allow St. Mary’s Hospital to realize its goal for the future—to improve access to high-quality, high-value care to meet the growing need for complex care in our community.
“This is a game-changing campaign,” says Kyle Nondorf, Regional VP of Hospital Operations for SSM Health Wisconsin. “It supports forward-thinking initiatives at SSM Health that further establish St. Mary’s Hospital - Madison as a center for complex care in Wisconsin. Investments in surgical innovation and robotics will allow us to offer minimally invasive procedures to more patients than ever before, which improves outcomes, gets patients back to doing what they love, and opens beds for those waiting for a higher level of care.” Through the Healing Hands campaign, SSM Health is investing in leading-edge technologies, including robotic surgical tools and integration that enhance doctors’ ability to predict, diagnose, and treat disease. Intensifying the funding for programmatic growth and innovative procedures will elevate the patient experience for everyone who comes to St. Mary’s Hospital for care.
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As a comprehensive campaign Healing Hands aims to put the most advanced tools in the healing hands of our skilled providers while also providing philanthropic support for emerging needs, clinical education and the advancement of community health initiatives. In wrapping around the hospital’s core needs, the campaign will aid in the recruitment of talented students, nurses, advanced practitioners, and physicians, who are critical to delivering tertiary care. This truly reflects SSM Health’s longtime commitment to our Mission and Values, as well as our Vision for “Peace, hope and health for every person, family and community, especially those most in need.”
A Campaign for Our Future, Making an Impact Today
The Healing Hands campaign gives everyone an opportunity to become a philanthropist, elevating the level of care patients receive in the heart of Madison. Early leadership giving and commitments for the campaign exceed $7.5 million and the campaign has already funded several capital projects.
One project made possible by the Healing Hands campaign supports the extraordinary work of a dedicated team led by Dr. Ghulam Murtaza. This skilled team is converting complex open-heart surgeries to less-invasive robot-assisted procedures, reducing patient recovery time from months to weeks – the only program of its kind in Dane County. Dr. Murtaza and his cardiothoracic surgical team performed its first Robot-Assisted Mitral Valve Repair in July 2022.
Additional support for the campaign added state-of-the-art Neurosurgical Innovation that provides enhanced magnification and navigation to remove tumors successfully. SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital was recently certified as a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center thanks to the work of Dr. Christopher Baggott and our skilled stroke team, with Regional Neurosciences Leadership from Dr. Jeff Masciopinto.
Generous gifts to Healing Hands include a lead gift from Ken Ballweg to launch the early phase of the campaign. Additional leadership support from our generous community allowed St. Mary’s Foundation to reach 75% of its goal earlier than expected.
“Throughout the early phase of the campaign our comprehensive vision has inspired individual giving at higher levels than we typically receive,” says Dina Boyle, Executive Director of St. Mary’s Foundation. “However, we’ll need additional support from our caring community to have a successful campaign and exceed our $10 Million goal. Our progress so far speaks to the trust people have in our leadership, clinicians and staff, and gratitude inspired by exceptional care.”
Strong Legacy Powers Extraordinary Goal
Since its founding in 1872, SSM Health continues to lead the way in high-quality, compassionate care. SSM Health was the first health care organization to be awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and receives annual awards, accolades and recognitions for patient safety, quality and continuous improvement efforts. In 2022, SSM Health provided $464 Million in community benefit across its four-state footprint by investing in advancing the care of each community we serve.
The Healing Hands campaign will carry forward and build on these achievements, with fund-raising efforts continuing in earnest to meet the $10 Million goal.
“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we need to stay the course,” says Campaign Co-Chair Jenny Stein. “We are deeply grateful to all of our wonderful, visionary donors who are partnering with us to invest in St. Mary’s tradition of holistic care - treating body, mind and spirit. This campaign is truly where innovation meets compassion.”
This is a special moment in time for St. Mary’s Foundation to have such a significant impact on caring for patients in the communities we serve - especially those most in need. We are honored to have so many caring individuals behind this campaign and invite others in the community to join us with an investment in St. Mary’s Future.
“We are focused on supporting health care because we recognize the importance of quality health care in the Madison community,” explained Marv Levy. “With an aging population, the demands on health care will outpace the resources as we look ahead. Investments from the community will be necessary to meet the growing need, and we’re proud to help lead the way.”
To learn more about the Healing Hands campaign contact the Foundation team at 608-258-5600 or by emailing stmarysfoundation@ssmhealth.com