DONORSClark Family FoundationGives from, and to, the HeartDave and Donna Clark■ Kila OwensFor 25 years, Dave Clark has had a soft spot for children – especiallylocal children in need.That is why, in 1985, Clark, who was just visiting the state, called in a$75,000 pledge to the annual Children’s Miracle Network telethon.“I was preparing to move my business here and, in fact, had justbought a horse farm in Perry County,” says Clark. “I was ready to moveto <strong>Arkansas</strong> permanently, and I just felt like I ought to support the kidswho needed help locally.”After a tour of the hospital, during which he saw first-hand the impactof heart problems on children, Clark decided to do more. During the1986 telethon, he made a $1 million endowment gift, issued as a challengeto telethon viewers. The money was not only given by Clark, whothen served as president of Interstate Airlines of Little Rock, but also hisemployees.Clark’s $1 million gift, which was earmarked for cardiovascular services,was the largest single endowment gift ever given to <strong>Arkansas</strong>Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong>. Clark’s endowment is a gift that keeps on giving,even 24 years later. The gift itself is invested, and earnings are used toenhance programs and services for children.In 1989, Clark joined the <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong> board of directors.He remained on the board for seven years, leaving in 1996 when heretired and moved to Naples, Fla. He continued his support of ACH,and in 2003, moved back to Little Rock. Clark’s move was one of manyexciting changes in his life that year – he also married his wife, Donna.In 2007, Donna and Dave created the Clark Family Foundation, acharitable foundation they will use to help those who cannot help themselves– children.“We have been giving personally for a number of years, and we wantedto do more,” says Dave Clark. “I was going through my estate plans, andI felt all my heirs were being taken care of properly, so we formed thefoundation.”One of the first gifts the foundation gave was $1 million to kickoff funding for the renovation and re-equipping of the cardiac catheterizationlab at ACH.According to Dr. Paul Seib*, medical director of the ACH cath lab,the project will cost $5.5 million and will completely update the twocatheterization rooms.“The two rooms in the lab are used as diagnostic and therapeutic toolsfor newborns, children and young adults with congenital and acquiredheart disease,” says Seib. “The two rooms are currently 11 years old, andin those 11 years, numerous technology advances have been made.”The two cath rooms will be updated with completely new equipmentand technology, including the addition of PACS (picture archiving andcommunication system), which is a computer network dedicated to thestorage, retrieval, distribution and presentation of x-ray images. PACSnot only allows instant access to images by multiple physicians simultaneously,but also benefits the patients because they endure fewer x-rays,which means less radiation.“This gift from the Clark Family Foundation is a great start to ourfunding of the renovation of the cath labs,” says Dr. Jonathan Bates,president and CEO of ACH. “These two rooms will have brand newequipment and high performance imaging technology to make thingsbetter and safer for our patients. Donna and Dave understand how muchmore we can do for our children. They are terrific partners.”The Clarks are excited that their gift will help improve things for theheart patients at ACH. They consider themselves lucky because none oftheir grandchildren or great-grandchildren have been treated at ACH.“That is something we have talked about,” says Donna Clark. “Wehave younger grandchildren, and I have always said to Dave, ‘Just imagineif one of them has a serious illness.’ Thankfully, <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s<strong>Hospital</strong> in Little Rock is a first-class institution.”*Paul Seib, M.D., is medical director of the ACH cardiac catheterizationlab and associate professor of pediatrics, section of pediatric cardiology,UAMS College of Medicine.10
DONORSAnna Findley supports<strong>Arkansas</strong> <strong>Children's</strong> <strong>Hospital</strong>because of the experience ofher great-niece Lacey Baugh.Lacey, now 18, spent threeweeks in the hospital as aninfant, two days of whichwere on ECMO (a heart-lungbypass machine).Great-Niece’s ACH Experience Inspires Anna Findley to Name <strong>Hospital</strong> in Her Will■ Alyssa AndersonAnna Findley, of Jonesboro, says she and her late husband, Roy,made a conscious decision not to have children because they were “inthe liquor and beer business” as tavern owners for more than 30years. So Findley never really knew about <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s<strong>Hospital</strong> until 1990, when her great-niece Lacey Baugh was born withdiaphragmatic hernia, a severe birth defect that, until the last decade,had a 75 percent mortality rate.That’s when Findley’s good feelings about the hospital began, andshe has continued to be so pleased with the hospital’s work that shehas made <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong> one of the beneficiaries ofher will.Lacey’s condition was a birth defect that caused an abnormalopening in her diaphragm, the muscle used to breathe. She was bornat a Jonesboro hospital and would have been airlifted to <strong>Arkansas</strong>Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong> but the weather was too stormy; instead, she wastaken to Little Rock by ambulance. Once at ACH, Lacey was givenless than a 15 percent chance to survive, and even if she did, her parentswere told she would likely have brain damage, paralysis, blindnessor deafness.She was placed on ECMO (a heart-lung bypass machine) for twodays before having surgery to correct her hernia, and then remainedon ECMO for six days following the surgery.“What we expected to be at least a six-week stay at the hospitalturned out to be only a little over three weeks,” says her mother,Janet. “One by one, the use of machines was discontinued. Laceyfinally breathed on her own, IV lines came out, then the feeding tubecame out and she was retrained to suck by an occupational therapist.We left the hospital with no oxygen and no baby monitor – just acouple of surgical incisions to take care of.”Today, Lacey is an 18-year-old senior at Westside High School inJonesboro. She is the starting pitcher on her softball team and is lookingforward to college and pursuing a career in medicine.“I thank God every day for the fine folks at <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s<strong>Hospital</strong> and for the wonderful doctors and nurses who gave Laceythe care she needed to become the person she is today,” Janet says.Findley says she never thought about supporting <strong>Arkansas</strong>Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong> until Lacey’s experience.“But after she was there and we saw how well things workedout, I wanted to help,” Findley says. She regularly makes tributegifts to the hospital, and she says making the hospital a beneficiaryof her will was an easy way to help.“My husband and I discussed it to begin with, and we decidedbefore he passed away that we would leave money for Children’s<strong>Hospital</strong> and another children’s charity,” she says. “Then when hepassed away, I made my own will and had the attorney put it inthere. I’m a great believer in, why leave a lot of money for youngfolks to spend when you can help somebody?”How Do I Write a Bequest to<strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong>?Making a provision in your will for <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s<strong>Hospital</strong> is a simple process. Such bequests can be included inyour will at its creation or added and updated later by a codicil.When making a bequest, it is important to name preciselythe individuals and organizations you intend to benefit. Byavoiding generalities such as a common name for an organization,you avoid confusion or possible litigation and ensure thatyour donation reaches its intended beneficiary.While not necessary, it is helpful to make ACH aware that weare being named in your will. This way you can be sure yourbequest will be executed in the manner you intended. In addition,we have special means of recognizing donors who havenamed us in their wills. Furthermore, if you agree to it, publicrecognition of your generosity can inspire others to considersupporting causes of importance to them.There are different ways to make gifts to <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s<strong>Hospital</strong> through your will, with varying tax consequences. Thesimplest and most popular approach is an outright bequest.For <strong>Arkansas</strong> Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong> Foundation’s suggestedbequest language, please call Mary Starr Ross at(501) 364-5308, or e-mail rossms@archildrens.org. You mayalso visit us online at www.archildrens.org/giftplanning. 11