Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Steiner, Meyer, Marden, Polenz, Stuart
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 9/21/2011
Neillsville – Initial Donation Marks Milestone for Hospital (Steiner Family – 2011)
Jeanette Steiner (second from left) presents a $1,000 donation to the Foundation of Memorial Medical Center. Accepting her donation are (l-r) Dr. Tim Meyer (Foundation president), Jana Marden (Foundation treasurer) and Scott Polenz (MMC CEO and Foundation Board member). Contributed photo
Tuesday, Sept. 6, Memorial Medical Center (MMC) reached another milestone in its history their newly-established Foundation accepted its first donation from a community member.
Jeanette Steiner and her family presented a check for $1,000 in honor and memory of Steiner’s husband Francis Steiner.
“Francis received such tremendous care and support from the MMC staff for the last four years of his life,” shared Steiner. “We were in awe with how genuine and compassionate everyone was. My family and I felt this contribution was one way to show our gratitude and honor Francis’ memory.”
The Foundation Board is currently in the process of finalizing its funding priorities. Consequently, the Steiner memorial gift has been placed in the Foundation’s general fund to be used once the board’s direction has been confirmed.
“The Steiner donation is meaningful for several reasons,” commented Scott Polenz, Foundation Board member and Memorial Medical Center’s CEO. “There is a great deal of love and respect for a man’s life reflected in this gift, which makes it that much more of an honor for the Foundation to receive it. Then there’s the fact that this is the very first donation our Foundation has accepted from a community member. It’s one for MMC’s history books.”
After assuming the role of C EO nearly five years ago, establishing the organization’s Foundation became a priority for Polenz as part of his strategies for ensuring Memorial’s long-term financial stability.
“Financial discipline and stewardship are vital to our recruiting and retaining a top-notch medical staff and employees,” explained Polenz. “They will also ensure we keep pace with the latest technology and services our patients deserve. This foundation is an effective tool for us to reach big-picture goals, such as positioning ourselves for new hospital construction by 2015, sending staff to high-level trainings on evolving patient care techniques, and enhancing or initiating patent services that donors deem important to the well-being of community residents,” remarked Polenz.
While the legal process of establishing the Foundation with the IRS took longer than anticipated, other aspects of the groundwork were previously completed, including recruiting the board, drafting bylaws and policies, creating initial drafts of print pieces and establishing a basic Web presence.
Shelly Stuart, incoming Foundation & Marketing specialist, begins her employment at MMC later this month. Her top priorities will include working with the Foundation Board to confirm their strategic plan and funding initiatives, a descriptive brochure and other supportive communication pieces to fully explain the goals of the Foundation. A community awareness campaign will commence shortly thereafter, educating Memorial staff and community members on the benefits of making donations to the Foundation
