O’Malleys Provide Martin Memorial Foundation Mum Ball with $500,000 Gift

Thomas and Mary Alice O’Malley are redefining what it means to be good hosts.

The O’Malleys, Sailfish Point residents who are hosting the 2010 Martin Memorial Foundation Chrysanthemum Ball at their home, will provide a gift of $500,000 to help match funds raised at the 16th annual event. The Chrysanthemum Ball is expected to bring in more than $800,000 and that money, combined with the O’Malleys’ gift, will be used toward the purchase of a technologically advanced interventional radiology suite.

In order to fully fund the $1.7 million interventional radiology suite, the Martin Memorial Foundation is seeking others to join the O’Malleys and make gifts that will help reach that financial target.

“Having access to health care is critical to the continued well being of a community,” said Mary Alice O’Malley, a registered nurse. “For 16 years the Chrysanthemum Ball has
helped Martin Memorial fulfill its mission of providing high-quality care. We are excited to help build on that legacy.”

Mary Alice O’Malley has served on the boards of several medical and educational organizations and is presently a trustee of the Children’s National Research Center in Washington, D.C. Thomas O’Malley is chairman of Petroplus Holdings A.G., Europe’s largest independent oil refiner and wholesaler, and also serves as chairman of PBF Investments LLC, a U.S. oil refining entity.

Prior to that, Thomas O’Malley was chairman of Premcor, a domestic oil refiner and Fortune 250 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Before joining Premcor, he was chairman and CEO of Tosco Corporation, which was the largest independent oil refiner and marketer of oil products in the United States. He is also a past vice chairman of Salomon Brothers Inc.

Thomas O’Malley has served on the boards of the National Petroleum Council; the Listed Company Advisory Board of the New York Stock Exchange; Lowe’s Companies; PetSmart Inc.; and Phillips Petroleum. He is chairman of the board of trustees of Manhattan College, his alma mater. The O’Malleys have four grown children and four grandchildren.

“The generosity shown by the O’Malleys is an extraordinary example of how philanthropy makes it possible for Martin Memorial to provide exceptional care for the Treasure Coast,” said Arthur M. “Rusty” Brink Jr., vice president and chief philanthropic officer for Martin Memorial. “Their gift will play a significant role in helping improve the quality of health for our community.”

The new digital interventional suite brings to Martin Memorial a new level of diagnostic power. Sharper technology allows more detailed images while minimizing the amount of radiation to each patient. Interventional radiology suites are used for procedures such as:

• Angioplasty (repairing blood vessels using a balloon-tipped catheter and vascular stents)
• Thrombectomy and thrombolysis (blood clot removal and dissolving)
• Embolization (stopping blood flow to selected tumors)
• Radiofrequency ablation (removing tumors with high-energy radio waves)

Since its inception, the Chrysanthemum Ball has raised nearly $9.5 million. In that time the event has earned a reputation for providing high-quality entertainment, fine cuisine and an energetic atmosphere. Its committee of more than 30 volunteers have consistently created an event that is engaging to those who attend, but also integrally important to Martin Memorial’s mission of providing health care access to the community.

Past Chrysanthemum Balls raised funds for sophisticated technologies such as a PET/CT scanner, two cardiac catheterization labs, a 64-slice CT scanner, a digital mammography unit and equipment enhancements for nurses at the bedside. An endowment was also created that will fund patient care projects in the future as well.

For more information about the Chrysanthemum Ball or the Martin Memorial Foundation, please visit GIVEmmhs.org.

Martin Memorial Foundation LifeSavers Seek Pepsi Refresh Grant to Help Kids

The Martin Memorial Foundation LifeSavers are looking to refresh their efforts to help new mothers and babies on the Treasure Coast in a bold and exciting new way – through the Pepsi Refresh Project.

The Pepsi Refresh Project is an effort to foster innovative programs that will benefit communities, and will award more than $20 million this year to fund ideas and projects. The Martin Memorial Foundation received notification on Oct. 1 that the LifeSavers’ efforts to enhance health care for kids and families was accepted as one of the Pepsi Refresh projects for the month.

The LifeSavers are vying for one of two possible $250,000 grants. Winners are selected by a popular vote. To vote for the LifeSavers project, visit www.refresheverything.com/goombaybash or text 103329 to Pepsi at 73774. Voting ends Nov. 1.

The Pepsi Refresh Project launched in January 2010. Each month, 1,000 submissions are reviewed and approved projects are then posted online and voted on for the entire month following submission. Pepsi Refresh is looking for “projects that are beneficial, achievable, constructive, and ‘shovel-ready’ (meaning it can be finished within 12 months of funding).”

The LifeSavers are a committee of nearly 70 philanthropists from Martin and St. Lucie counties who work hard to create awareness for the needs of new mothers and infants, as well as pediatric patients at Martin Memorial. A number of the committee members have had children born at Martin Memorial – and some were actually born at the hospital themselves.

“I think the LifeSavers fit perfectly with what the Pepsi Refresh Project is trying to accomplish,” said Lindsay Nickerson, co-chair of the LifeSavers committee. “We are a group of individuals who, by using innovation, passion and teamwork, are helping to ensure babies born at Martin Memorial receive the best possible health care available. And in many cases, that care is quite literally a life saver.”

Since its inception in 2002, the LifeSavers have raised $600,000 for the Martin Memorial Foundation. Those funds are used to purchase new technology and equipment, as well as to provide needed renovations to Martin Memorial’s maternal-child department and pediatric rehabilitation facilities.

At the 2010 Goombay Bash, the annual summer event that highlights the group’s efforts, the LifeSavers brought in a record $130,000 with the help of 650 revelers and numerous sponsors.

“The LifeSavers have been so successful not only because they support a great cause, but because of the passion and commitment they bring to everything they do,” said Melinda Stevens, co-chair of the committee. “The Pepsi Refresh Project is an exciting opportunity to continue that legacy of assisting Treasure Coast residents. We hope the community will help us reach our goal and in doing so, help new mothers and babies have access to the highest quality care available.”

Martin Memorial Foundation Board of Directors Receives Six New Members

Six new members recently joined the Martin Memorial Foundation Board of Directors.

The board oversees the Martin Memorial Foundation, which is responsible for the fund-raising efforts of the not-for-profit health system. The new board members include:

• Steven Beres, attorney and partner with the law firm of Crary Buchanan.
• Nancy Crowder-McCoy, CPA and tax principal for the accounting firm of Proctor, Crook, Crowder and Fogal.
• Shelley Guerard, former vice president with Verizon who recently began her tenure as president of the Martin Memorial Auxiliary.
• John Keller, founder and former president of the Illinois-based Keller Group Inc.
• J. Philippe Latreille, former executive with manufacturers Masonite Corp. and Hunter Douglas.
• Eric A. Pfeiffer, MD, president of Diagnostic Imaging Services and chief of radiology services for Martin Memorial.

“We believe these individuals will bring tremendous talent and experience to the Martin Memorial Foundation Board of Directors,” said Arthur M. “Rusty” Brink Jr., vice president and chief philanthropic officer for Martin Memorial. “I look forward to each of them in helping us fulfill our mission of providing exceptional health care to the community.”

“Dodge for the Cure” to Raise Money for Martin Memorial Inpatient Oncology Unit

The third-annual Tom Vadas Memorial “Dodge for the Cure” will once again give rusty dodgeball warriors a chance to practice their skills – all in the name of a good cause.

The tournament will be held Saturday, May 8 in the Jensen Beach High School gymnasium. The youth division will kick things off at 3 p.m. and the adult division (ninth grade on up) beginning at 6 p.m.

The registration fee for the youth division (fifth to eighth grade) is $100 per team, while registration for the adult division (ninth grade to all adults) is $35 per player. Each team includes six to eight players. This year there are also two separate adult categories: the Bonzai Division is for those who choose to be more competitive; the Average Joe division is for those a little less competitive.

The tournament was created by Sandy Vadas in memory of her husband, Tom Vadas, who fought Hodgkin’s lymphoma for 16 years before passing away in 2007. Tom spent most of the last year of his life in the cancer unit at Martin Memorial, and he wanted to create a place where patients and their families could feel upbeat and motivated to continue their fight against cancer each day.

“For many cancer patients and their families, the unit becomes a home away from home as they battle the disease,” Sandy Vadas said. “The goal of the tournament is to raise money to purchase amenities that can help make their stays as comfortable as possible.”

In its first two years the event has raised more than $28,000. In its first two years the event has raised more than $28,000. Those funds have helped pay for renovations and refurbishment of a room at the oncology unit where patients’ families can relax. Customized whiteboards were also purchased for patient rooms that help nursing staff better communicate the course of care with patients and their families.

For more information or to register, visit dodgeforthecure.blogspot.com or call Kathy Green at (772) 215-7463. General admission tickets are also available for $3.

“Dodge for the Cure” Tournament Kicks Off With Sign-Up Event on February 5

With the third-annual Tom Vadas Memorial “Dodge for the Cure” just a few months away, now is the chance for rusty dodgeball warriors to practice their skills.

A kickoff party is being held on Friday, Feb. 5 for teams and players interested in participating in the “old-school dodgeball tournament.” The event, which benefits the Martin Memorial inpatient oncology unit, takes place May 8 in Jensen Beach.

There is a maximum of 60 teams and the spots go fast, so the kickoff event allows players to register their teams and be ensured of reserving a spot in the field.

The kickoff party will be held at the Martin Memorial Medical Center Conference Center, located at 200 S.E. Hospital Ave. in Stuart. It will take place in two sessions, with the first going from 6-6:30 p.m., followed by a second session from 6:30-7 p.m. During each session, team captains can take a guided tour of the inpatient oncology unit to see how their donations will help benefit Treasure Coast cancer patients. A group photo of all attending teams will be taken at 5:30 p.m.

The registration fee for the youth division (fifth to eighth grade) is $100 per team, while registration for the adult division (ninth grade to all adults) is $30 per player until April 1 and $35 after that date. Each team includes six to eight players. This year there are also two adult categories: the Bonzai Division is for those who choose to be more competitive; the Average Joe division is for those a little less competitive.

The tournament will be held Saturday, May 8 in the Jensen Beach High School gymnasium. The youth division will kick things off with team check-in at 2:30 p.m. and the adult division (ninth grade on up) check-in beginning at 6 p.m.

Funds from the tournament go to the inpatient cancer unit at Martin Memorial. For many cancer patients and their families, the unit becomes a home away from home as they battle the disease. The goal of the tournament is to raise funds to purchase amenities that will help their sometimes lengthy stays more comfortable. In its first two years the event has raised more than $28,000.

The tournament was created in memory of Tom Vadas, who fought Hodgkin’s lymphoma for 16 years before passing away in 2007. Tom spent most of the last year of his life in the cancer unit at Martin Memorial, and he wanted to create a place where patients and their families could feel upbeat and motivated to continue their fight against cancer each day.

For more information on the event, visit dodgeforthecure.com.

Fourth-Annual Fleet Feet 5K Lets You Run for Your Heart – and Others – on Feb. 13

For numerous Treasure Coast residents, running provides tremendous health benefits for their hearts.

On Feb. 13, they can once again benefit the hearts of others by participating in the fourth-annual “Fleet Feet Run for Your Heart” in Stuart. The event features a 5K run and a 1-mile walk, with proceeds from the event going to the Frances Langford Heart Center at Martin Memorial.

The event begins at 7 a.m. at Fleet Feet, located at 2440 N.W. Federal Hwy. in Stuart. Cost of the event is $20 for pre-registration and $25 after Feb. 1. Awards will be provided for top male and female overall finishers, male and female masters division winners, as well as first, second and third places in each division. For the first time, this year’s event will also be chip timed by AccuChip.

“This is a great opportunity to support a facility that helps hundreds of people in our community every year,” said Susan Hastings, co-owner of Fleet Feet Sports Stuart. “For those who are in it for the competition, it is a very fast course with many personal records set. If you simply enjoy a run to start your weekend, the course couldn’t be nicer.”

In its first three years, the race has annually drawn around 300 participants – including a combination of seasoned runners all the way to first-time racers – and raised approximately $17,000.

For registration information, visit fleetfeetstuart.com, call the store at (772) 232-9225, or e-mail Hastings at susan@fleetfeetstuart.com.

New Martin Memorial Foundation Web Site Makes Giving for a Good Cause Easy

The Martin Memorial Foundation has been helping provide Treasure Coast residents with exceptional health care for more than 25 years. Now, the Foundation has launched a new Web site that makes it easier than ever to see how philanthropy is making a difference in the lives of Martin and St. Lucie county residents.

The new site, GIVEmmhs.org, allows potential donors to go online when they are considering making a future gift. There, they can learn where the money goes, hear inspiring donor stories, sign up for an event, calculate how much they would benefit from deferred gifts, and make a gift safely and securely. The site also includes information and updates on new gifts and programs through the Foundation. Later in the year, the site will host online communities for Foundation volunteer groups, including committee members for events such as the Chrysanthemum Ball and Goombay Bash.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to continue engaging community members in a way that is easy and convenient for them to use,” said Arthur M. “Rusty” Brink Jr., vice president and chief philanthropic officer for Martin Memorial. “The Web site will be a valuable resource for anyone who wants to discover the powerful impact philanthropy has on health care.”

The Martin Memorial Foundation was created in 1983 and has raised approximately $97 million since its inception, helping to fulfill the health system’s mission of providing access to the very best care and services available. Gifts to the Foundation have been the driving force behind some of Martin Memorial’s key services, including: the Frances Langford Heart Center; the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center; the Martin Memorial Hospital South Emergency Department; and the David L. Smythe Wound Center as well as the David L. Smythe Center for Children.

Gifts to the Foundation have also helped purchase sophisticated, lifesaving technology such as a PET/CT scanner; 64-slice CT scanner; two cardiac catheterization labs; Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy equipment; and a Picture Archiving and Communication System.

Martin Memorial Commemorates David L. Smythe Center for Children

For the second time in a little more than two years, Martin Memorial Health Systems has honored David Smythe by naming something after him.

On Aug. 10, 2009, Smythe made a cash gift of $2 million to Martin Memorial, benefiting children’s services at the health system. In gratitude for his generosity, on Jan. 7 the David L. Smythe Center for Children was commemorated at Martin Memorial Medical Center.

Smythe also made a $500,000 gift to Martin Memorial in June 2008 after being impressed with the care he received at the health system’s wound medicine center. In November 2008, the David L. Smythe Wound Center officially opened its doors after moving from its previous location to a new office at 314 Hospital Ave. in Stuart.

“You receive a tremendous benefit from the act of giving,” Smythe said. “I wanted to be able to help children and their families and this is one way I can accomplish that.”

Funds from the gift will be used to support Martin Memorial’s maternal-child, pediatric rehabilitation and pediatric programs in Martin and St. Lucie counties. In addition, an endowment established by the gift will also provide annual funding for those programs as well as other programs within the health system.

Smythe, who splits his time between Stuart and Summit, N.J., has had a long history of community involvement, thanks in part to his business success. In 1959 he purchased an American Motor Corp. franchise in Summit and a few years later opened Smythe Volvo there. Today, the Smythe Volvo Organization is celebrating 50 years in the automobile sales industry and is one of the largest Volvo dealerships in the United States.

“David exemplifies the partnership we share with the communities we serve,” said Mark E. Robitaille, president and chief executive officer. “He truly understands the critical role philanthropy plays in providing exceptional health care, and he has provided a perfect example of how one person’s compassion can help improve countless lives.”

$25,000 Gift to Help Martin Memorial Enhance Nursing Education

As a former nurse, Helen Thomas recognized the critical role nursing education plays in providing exceptional health care.

As a result, Martin Memorial recently received a $25,000 grant from the William and Helen Thomas Charitable Trust. The funds will be used to support nursing education and related projects as Martin Memorial works toward advancing the clinical and leadership role of nursing at the bedside.

“Helen Thomas understood that nurses play a critical role in the health care of the community,” said Bonney A. Johnson, vice president and senior trust officer for U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, which serves as a trustee. “The Thomases recognized that Martin Memorial is an institution that gives back to the community and they wanted to help the health system continue to provide access to high-quality care.”

(Pictured in the photo, Bonney Johnson [far right] presents a check to Karen Ripper, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Martin Memorial, nurse Valerie Kuhn; Sharon Kinane, magnet recognition coordinator for Martin Memorial; and nurse Tammy Samanka.)

Support from the William and Helen Thomas Charitable Trust will assist nurses at Martin Memorial by providing financial support in their efforts to achieve advanced nursing certifications and continued educational advancement. It will also assist senior nursing staff in providing mentoring and one-on-one coaching to newer nurses that will help them build confidence and develop bedside leadership skills.

“We are extremely grateful to the William and Helen Thomas Charitable Trust for assisting us in enhancing the education and training of our nursing staff,” said Karen Ripper, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Martin Memorial. “This investment in nurses will help us continue to provide extraordinary health care to the community.”

The William and Helen Thomas Charitable Trust was created to maintain the long-time Stuart residents’ commitment to philanthropy and giving back to the community. Prior to his death in 2001, William Thomas was a salesman for ARCO Company and served as Board Chairman of Enabling Technologies Braille Embossers and Printers. Before her death in 2005, Helen Thomas worked as a nurse and was a staunch supporter of medical education. Since 2001, the trust has provided approximately $3 million to local charities, primarily in St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties.

Martin Memorial Auxiliary Hosts Thrift Shop Sale to Raise Cancer Center Funds

The Martin Memorial Auxiliary will be hosting a sale at its thrift shop in Stuart to raise money for the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center.

The sale takes place June 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Auxiliary thrift shop, located at 2195 S.E. Ocean Blvd. in the Smithfield Plaza in Stuart. All proceeds from the sale of the clothing, as well as the majority of the proceeds from all other sales at the thrift shop that day, will go to the cancer center.

Most of the items for sale are designer clothing, evening and casual wear that belonged to Arlene Hallman, a former patient at the cancer center who died from uterine cancer in November 2008. Ms. Hallman had battled cancer for many years and was grateful to the staff at the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center for the care she received.

“She was very much into fashion and a very beautiful lady,” said her sister, Margie McCord, who will also be distributing information about uterine and ovarian cancers. “She had a very beautiful wardrobe, so I wanted to do something that would not only help give back to the cancer center, but also bring some awareness about uterine and ovarian cancers.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer of the uterus accounts for six percent of all cancers for women in the United States, making it the most common cancer of the female reproductive system. About 21,500 new cases of ovarian cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2009, and nearly 15,000 women will die as a result of the disease.

How Can Golf Save Lives? Play the Associates with Heart Tournament

Grab your golf clubs and help us provide technology that can potentially save lives.

Martin Memorial will host the third-annual Associates with Heart Golf and Dinner Gala on Saturday, April 18 at Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart.

Golf begins with a shotgun start at 1 p.m., with the dinner gala kicking off at 6:30 p.m. The event will feature a golf ball drop, music, silent auction, raffle prizes and more. The price for golf and dinner is $100 for associates, $125 for golfers not employed by the health system. Non-golfers can still participate by attending the dinner gala. Tickets for the dinner gala alone are available for $50 for associates, $75 for non-associates.

“There are nearly 2,900 Martin Memorial associates who live and work in Martin and St. Lucie counties, so we know how important it is to ensure the health system has access to sophisticated technologies,” said Kim Brisky, event co-chair. “Every day, our associates see first hand the difference it can make.”

Proceeds from the event go toward the purchase of the Arctic Sun Temperature Management Systems for the Martin Memorial Medical Center and Martin Memorial Hospital South emergency departments. Patient temperature control/hypothermia therapy is a promising new treatment for limiting neurological damage in a wide range of critically ill patients by lowering their body temperature.

The treatment is becoming the standard of care in many hospitals throughout the United States and utilization of these vests could be beneficial to patient outcomes in Martin Memorial’s emergency departments.

“This new technology could make a tremendous difference in the lives of patients who come to our emergency departments,” said Diana Nolan, event co-chair. “The Associates with Heart event is a great opportunity to help the community while having an enjoyable day of golf, food and fun.”

For more information, or to register for the tournament, please call (772) 223-2885.

Play Dodgeball and Fight Cancer: Sign Up for Second-Annual “Dodge for the Cure”

If you think your dodgeball playing days were over in high school, think again.

The second-annual Tom Vadas Memorial “Dodge for the Cure” – which benefits the Martin Memorial inpatient oncology unit – will return in May, giving rusty dodgeball warriors the chance to practice their skills in the sport’s four D’s: dodge, duck, dip and dive.

Because team reservations for last year’s inaugural tournament went so quickly, this year event organizers are doubling the size of the field and holding a kickoff party for teams interested in registering early. On Tuesday, Feb. 10, players interested in participating in the tournament can register their teams and be ensured of reserving a spot in the field.

The kickoff party will be held at the Martin Memorial Medical Center conference room, located at 200 S.E. Hospital Ave. It will take place in two sessions, with the first going from 6-7 p.m., followed by a second session from 7-8 p.m. During each session, team captains can tour the inpatient oncology unit to see how their donations will help benefit Treasure Coast cancer patients.

The registration fee for each team is $100.

The tournament will be held Saturday, May 9 in the Jensen Beach High School gymnasium. The youth division (fifth through eighth graders) will kick things off at 3 p.m., with the adult division (ninth grade on up) beginning at 6:30 p.m. Each team includes six to eight players.

The “old school dodgeball tournament” is expected to feature approximately 60 teams in two divisions, squaring off to beat each other – and cancer. Funds from the tournament go to the inpatient cancer unit at Martin Memorial. For many cancer patients and their families, the unit becomes a home away from home as they battle the disease. The goal of the tournament is to raise funds to purchase amenities that will help their sometimes lengthy stays more comfortable. Last year’s event raised more than $11,000.

The tournament was created in memory of Tom Vadas, who fought Hodgkin’s lymphoma for 16 years before passing away in 2007. Tom spent most of the last year of his life in the cancer unit at Martin Memorial, and he wanted to create a place where patients and their families could feel upbeat and motivated to continue their fight against cancer each day.

For more information on the event, visit dodgeforthecure.blogspot.com.

--Scott Samples
Public Information Coordinator

X Marks the Spot: Philanthropy Helps Transform Health Care, One Life at a Time

Well, it’s getting on toward the end of January, and I’m sure by now you’ve made serious progress toward your 2009 resolutions…right? I’m just getting started myself – mine involve meditating (yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh, I’ll be too enlightened to care), less wine, and more sleep. But transformation takes time! And that’s what our New Year promises are all about – transformation of one kind or another.

As a fundraiser, transformation’s always on my mind. After all, that’s really what philanthropy does here at the hospital…but it’s hard to explain unless you see it in person.

Lately I’ve spent a lot of time with donors getting a close-up view at some of the equipment and technology bought with donations to Martin Memorial. We saw a life saved as a patient was brought into the catheterization lab for an emergency angioplasty. We watched as a tumor appeared on a PET/CT scan that wouldn’t have otherwise been detected. We met a baby boy who was alive because of a special bed in the NICU. This is life-changing stuff!

My boss puts it this way – picture an aerial view of Martin Memorial. And then picture it with a big red X put through the things that we wouldn’t have without philanthropy. X through the heart center. No more cancer center. Bye-bye advanced diagnostic equipment and pharmacy robot.

Think about the thousands of patients and families who have used these services. Maybe someone you know? Their lives have been changed by total strangers who made gifts…and transformed the care we provide at Martin Memorial.

So as you’re thinking about your own transformation this month, remember that there are lots of ways to change lives – your own and that of others. I’ll check in from Nirvana next January to see how you’re doing.

--Kelly M. DeGregorio
Director of Development
Martin Memorial Foundation

Giving to Charity is Gift That Keeps Giving

Ah, holiday shopping. If you look forward to this annual ritual about as much as a root canal, I hear you. After all, does your sister really want that dust-collector that you’ll pay too much for at the last minute out of desperation? And you know you will.

Why not do something different? This year, why not consider making a gift to your favorite charity in someone’s honor?

There are a lot of advantages to this strategy. You can do it in your jammies in front of the computer. Your sis will be happy you thought so highly of her. You’ll look like a stand-up guy/gal in front of your whole family. You’ll stick to your budget. It won’t make you fat. You’ll be helping others who need it. But most of all, instead of that buy-buy-buy pressure, you’ll get to feel something that people are always talking about this time of year. Real, honest-to-God joy.

Bottom line, it feels really good to give.

It’s a tough time right now for many people, around the world and right here at home. Philanthropy is what fuels the organizations that help. Right here at Martin Memorial, gifts from our community literally save lives every day. Know someone who’s been a patient at the Frances Langford Heart Center or Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center? These services are only here because of people just like you who made a gift.

So save yourself a bit of sanity (you’ll need it) and save your sister some dusting while you’re at it. I promise, it’ll feel great.

--Kelly DeGregorio
Director of Development, Martin Memorial Foundation

Grateful Patient Provides $500,000 Gift

Like many patients who receive treatment at the Martin Memorial Wound Medicine Center, David Smythe was impressed with the care he received.

But Smythe, who splits time between Stuart and Summit, N.J., was so impressed he wanted to give something back to the wound medicine center. So he made a gift of $500,000 as a gesture of gratitude to the staff who helped him through the healing process.

“The people over there, I don’t know if you’ll find people like them anywhere,” Smythe said. “You could see that they just wanted to help people. They wanted to take care of you and they did.”

Smythe has long understood the value of customer service. In 1958 he purchased an American Motor Corp. franchise in Summit and eight years later opened Smythe Volvo there. Today, the Smythe Volvo Organization is celebrating 50 years in the automobile sales industry and is one of the largest Volvo dealerships in the United States.

Smythe began receiving treatment at the wound medicine center in October 2007, going three times a week. The center – which has been named a national award winner as a wound medicine center of excellence – provides a multidisciplinary program of treatment and support for the management of acute and chronic wounds. Since problem wounds are often associated with underlying medical conditions, the program is designed to integrate wound care with ongoing health care.

This fall the center will move from its current location to a larger office at 314 Hospital Ave. It will also come with a new name – the David L. Smythe Wound Medicine Center at Martin Memorial.

“We are extremely grateful to David for this generous gift,” said Arthur M. “Rusty” Brink Jr., vice president and chief philanthropic officer of Martin Memorial. “He has recognized the value of quality health care in our community and the importance of philanthropy in ensuring that those resources are available to our residents.”

--Scott Samples

Public Information Coordinator

Fighting Cancer One Ball at a Time

As a kid on the elementary school playgrounds I used to be a terror. Kickball. Dodgeball. Baseball. If it was spherical in shape, if it could be thrown or kicked, I dominated.

A lot has changed. I don’t wipe my runny nose on my sleeve anymore (at least not when anyone’s looking), don’t collect Star Wars figures and don’t dominate the athletic fields just by showing up the way I used to.

But it doesn’t stop me from going out to play – especially when it’s for a good cause. This month I’ve already had a chance to do that twice.

On May 3, I played in the Robert F. Novins Memorial Golf Tournament, a two-day fiesta that is equal parts party and golf. The event is in its seventh year now and has raised more than $200,000 to purchase much-needed equipment and technology at the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center.

Then on May 9 I got to play in a unique event that brought me back to those days on the playground. The inaugural Tom Vadas Memorial Dodge for the Cure is a dodgeball tournament designed to raise money for Martin Memorial’s inpatient oncology unit.

The tournament, which drew more than 30 teams to Jensen Beach High School, was created by Sandie Vadas, Tom’s wife. It was a way to honor a unique guy who battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma for 16 years before passing away in May 2007. The event raised money to purchase amenities for patient rooms on the oncology floor and is a fitting legacy for a fun-loving, compassionate man.

Sadly, I was egregiously bad in both events (though our team was so fast we were just a blur in the picture at left). But that wasn’t the point. For me, it was an opportunity to do just a little bit to help in the global fight against cancer.

And it came at an appropriate time. May 13 marks the 11th anniversary of my father’s death. He was 49 years old when he died of mesothelioma, a particularly nasty cancer that cut him down far too soon.

Now, more than a decade later, science has made tremendous gains against cancer. More people survive the disease than ever before. But cancer is still the second-leading cause of death in the United States.

Until there is a cure, there will be more golf tournaments, more dodgeballs to the head, more fundraisers to keep the battle going. Because to the family and friends of people like Robert Novins, Tom Vadas and Norman Samples, cancer isn’t a game.

--Scott Samples

Public Information Coordinator

A Plan for Stan the Man

The patient doesn’t have insurance, has no co-pay and spends every day flat on his back in a hospital bed. And while there is absolutely no chance he’ll get up and walk out of the hospital some day, it won’t be for a lack of medical attention.

The patient resides at Martin Memorial and there isn’t another like him in a Florida hospital. Of course technically he’s not a man – or a human – at all.

Rather, he is a highly sophisticated patient simulator purchased by Martin Memorial to help train nurses entering critical care areas – such as intensive care, emergency department and surgical areas – as well as nurses new to the hospital.

The simulator is called iStan by manufacturer Medical Education Technologies, Inc., but nicknamed Stan the Man at Martin Memorial. The health system purchased him with the help of Peter and Gayle Grimm, Harbour Ridge residents who provided a gift to the Martin Memorial Foundation.

On March 3, Martin Memorial had a demonstration of what Stan can do. And to be honest, it was a little freaky for anyone who’s seen the “Terminator” movies and worries about machines taking over the world.

He breathed, often loudly. He blinked. He sweated. He talked. In other words, it was like sitting next to someone on a long airplane flight.

A computer can program Stan to have all kinds of different ailments and problems, which will be diagnosed and treated by the nurses according to the symptoms he presents. He had two heart attacks on Monday, but fortunately he was surrounded by nurses who brought him back to life.

Even his skin feels real-ish. A coworker of mine touched one of his toes and recoiled quickly, as if she were sticking her hand in a barrel of fish guts. “It’s creepy!” she said of the realistic skin attached to the toe.

And yes, standing above this automated hunk of electronics and plastic and engineering wizardry, it is a little un-nerving to see him blink at you with one eye dilated. “What are you looking at?” I imagined him saying.

What nursing leaders are saying is that Stan will be a big help with training. That will assist Martin Memorial in retaining and recruitment of nurses, while at the same time continuing to promote patient safety by increasing the clinical staff’s level of training.

After all, with a piece of such high technology around, Stan’s already made one thing obvious – he’s no dummy.

-- Scott Samples
Public Information Coordinator

Having a Ball at the Ball

The first pair of shoes Karen Keane wore to last week’s Martin Memorial Foundation Chrysanthemum Ball didn’t last long – they were quickly taken off and replaced with another, slightly more comfortable pair.

But those shoes hurt her feet too, which is why they were soon gone as well. Finally, like Goldilocks finding the perfect bowl of porridge, Keane slid into a third pair of shoes and was soon dancing the night away.

Sore feet or not, the Chrysanthemum Ball was once again a huge success. The annual fund-raiser brought in $1.2 million that will be used to purchase a second cardiac catheterization lab for the Frances Langford Heart Center.

Keane, who is director of the cardiac cath lab, has seen first hand how much of a difference the advanced technology makes for patients. In the first year that the heart center was open, physicians (such as Dr. Stephen McIntyre, pictured at right) performed 775 interventional catheterizations – something they could not do before the heart center was here.

“This year has seen major growth and changes in the way we take care of patients with cardiac disease. Having state-of-the-art equipment and interventional cardiologists on site has allowed us to give immediate care to patients,” Keane said. “We are incredibly thankful to everyone involved with the Chrysanthemum Ball and to those who support Martin Memorial in helping us provide the best possible care for this community.”

The event itself was, as always, elegant and glamorous. The music was festive and fun, with guests dancing all night long in a setting designed to replicate a restaurant rooftop. The vistas of several cities – places like New York, Seattle and others – slowly rotated so that it looked like you were visiting a bunch of places without ever leaving Stuart.

But the volunteer committee comprised of about 30 women won’t have long to rest on its laurels: planning for next year’s event begins in just a couple weeks.
--Scott Samples