Caring Relationships - Gundersen Health System

Caring Relationships, Grateful patients
To Always Feel at Home
What is the bright side to a year that brought such adversity to so many in
our region? In times of turmoil or uncertainty, coping successfully often
means taking stock of what is essential in our lives, re-evaluating priorities,
and finding a renewed sense of gratitude for that which we value most. At
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, that means our relationships with
the people we serve.
For over a century, Gundersen Lutheran has been caring for patients,
families, and communities with a personalized attention that has become
the hallmark of everything we do. We are the home that people return to with
the secure knowledge that here, quality healthcare means not only leadingedge
services, but compassionate care delivered with a human touch. These
relationships—between medical center and community, between caregivers,
patients, and families—are the rich soil from which all advancement, success,
and achievement can take root and grow.
In this issue of Pathfinders, we share stories that spotlight the importance
of caring relationships and the fundamental ways they impact the work of
our Foundation. You’ll read about people’s thoughtful decisions to support
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation because our mission is consistent
with the very things they value most. Each story is different, yet the core
feeling is remarkably the same: “I am grateful” and “I want to make a
difference.”
None of us can know for certain what the coming year will bring. But even as
the healthcare landscape changes, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation
remains firmly rooted in our long tradition of treasuring relationships. We
know that home is not just a place—it is people.
2 www.gundluth.org/foundation
On the cover: Sue Eber knows
from personal experience that
“when you’ve been given a cancer
diagnosis, you need to be with
people.” That’s why she helped
launch the General Cancer Patient
Support Group (pictured at left)
in 2007 and is now actively
involved in promoting lung cancer
awareness through a project
supported by Gundersen Lutheran
Medical Foundation. Read more
about Sue on page 8.
Pathfinders is published by Gundersen
Lutheran Medical Foundation for friends
and supporters of the Foundation. We
welcome comments or suggestions from
our readers for future stories.
Editor
Jill Blokhuis
Associate Director of Development
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation
Photography
Brooke Doval, John Kerrigan, Marsha
Ledman, John Sake, and Jim Tritch
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Media
Copywriting
Leslie Wegener
Juniper Hill Partners
Design
Vendi Advertising
To learn more about the Foundation’s
medical education, research, and
community health outreach programs, or
to inquire about making a charitable gift,
please visit us at www.gundluth.org/
foundation or call the Foundation office at
(608) 775-6600.
©2008 Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation
Board of Directors
Mary B. Burrichter
Mark V. Connelly, MD, Chairman
Donald F. Frank
C. Daniel Gelatt, PhD
Robert N. Golden, MD
Joe Gow, PhD
A. Erik Gundersen, MD, Vice Chairman
Sigurd B. Gundersen, III, MD
Kent C. Handel
Herbert M. Heili, Treasurer
Pauline M. Jackson, MD
George H. Kerckhove
Wendy K. Lommen
Todd A. Mahr, MD
Ernest S. Micek
Edwin M. Overholt, MD
Pamela J. Padesky, RN, Secretary
John B. Reinhart
Barbara A. Skogen
Governor Tommy G. Thompson
Lisa K. Warsinske
Donald J. Weber
Stephen B. Webster, MD
Mary Jo Werner
John R. Wettstein
Our Mission
Focused on medical education, clinically
based research, and community health
outreach, Gundersen Lutheran Medical
Foundation is dedicated to advancing
quality healthcare.