First-Year Success Attributed to Generosity, Unity and Passion

Vowing to transform one of the lowest-ranked states in the nation for overall physical and mental well-being into one of the healthiest states in the U.S. may seem like an exercise in futility. Ranked 41st-healthiest, Indiana is facing numerous struggles that impact the health of its residents, from obesity to infant mortality to the shattering epidemic that is opioid abuse.

But I was reminded again that our Indiana University Health goal is attainable as patient and professional soprano Rachel Mikol — flanked by her IU Health caregivers — came on stage to sing “Amazing Grace” at the organization’s Leadership Development Institute in November. The experience was a moving tribute to a health system that sees our state’s challenges as a limitless opportunity to improve and save Hoosier lives.

As we ushered in 2018 with the launch of the new IU Health Foundation — consolidating 15 hospital foundations and giving programs across the IU Health system — we set goals and made a promise to our team members, patients and communities: through the power of people, progress and partnerships, we would make a measurable impact on the Hoosiers we serve.

So, what does it take to strive toward an achievement of this magnitude? I’d like to outline the three factors that played the most significant role in our success during our first year of operation as a cohesive foundation.

Generosity. When you operate in the nonprofit sector, it no longer seems tactless to talk about the importance of money. Healthy finances and responsible stewardship are what allow our organization to have the impact it does. I am truly humbled to report that in 2018, we surpassed our fundraising goal by 331 percent. For an organization in its first year, this certainly would not have been possible without the diligence of our gift officers, the passion of our IU Health team, and the overwhelming generosity of Hoosiers from every walk of life. With total funds raised of $19,070,185, we found ourselves in a position to have a more significant impact on our state and the regions we serve than ever before. As an example, in 2018, the generosity of Shelly Schwarz provided the single largest gift to IU Health from a living donor. That $10 million gift is funding the creation of the Joe and Shelly Schwarz Cancer Center at IU Health North – a state-of-the-art facility that will provide life-saving cancer care and treatment to patients in our Indianapolis Suburban Region.

Unity. Managing the funds we do is not a responsibility we take lightly. At this level, we have the ability to be a catalyst for truly transformative change. But we must make informed choices that will impact the causes most important to our donors, our communities and all Hoosiers. To do this, we must be unified in making decisions and focusing our energy. In a time of great flux — consolidating from many organizations in to one system-level foundation — I am proud to say that the leadership and team members who make up our organization came together ready to do the hard work of paving the way for us to meet and exceed our goals. By solidifying our mission around state-wide objectives and creating a unified force of people committed to achieving them, we were able to identify the most significant issues facing our communities — and work to actively improve them. We have chosen to focus on the opioid crisis and its connection to behavioral health, the startling and increasing rate of infant mortality, obesity and related health issues, and general public health across the state of Indiana. By forming this unified front, we are able to impact change at every level of our health system, reaching further into the regions we serve and caring for the people there in a way that meets their specific needs. Unity is what enabled us in 2018 to invest in peer recovery coaches across the IU Health system, tackling the opioid epidemic one patient at a time. In some of the smaller communities we serve, such as Paoli or Tipton, this program is reaching patients who may otherwise never have had access to this vital and transformative care.

Passion. None of this could be achieved without clarity of purpose and a deep desire to change the status quo. Passion not only drives us to carry on when success is in sight; it also keeps us on the path when our goals seem unreachable. Passion pushes us to believe that Indiana can rise to prominence as a state that is making healthy, positive change. It gives us the strength to tackle the very serious problems facing many of the individuals we serve — and many of the individuals we know and care for. Thanks to donor Charles Merriman, his passion has inspired the expansion of the Lynda A. Merriman Award for Compassionate Care — which recognizes a caregiver who goes above and beyond in service of their patients — to the system level. This gives us greater opportunity to honor those who display that kind of passion that makes what we do possible. Additionally, the overwhelming success of our first year means we will be able to expand our grants program and provide more support to our hospitals all across the state.

The humility I feel after the success of our inaugural year is mingled now with pride — in our IU Health Foundation team, in the team members who support our work across the IU Health system, and especially in the donors who give generously and selflessly to enable us to reach our goals. By keeping our focus on people, progress and partnerships, we can continue to exceed the expectations we set for ourselves and for our state.

If you would like to learn more about the projects and initiatives we support, please visit our website, or to read more about our accomplishments in 2018, visit the news release highlighting the impact of these achievements.