Published on January 01, 2012
Here’s How You Can Help Us
Expand Services to Our Special Needs Children
The Asante Foundation is excited to announce our new $700,000 fundraising campaign that will expand both the space and the services offered by the Pediatric Assessment and Therapy Services program at Rogue Valley Medical Center (RVMC).
The new clinic, which will be located near the hospital’s South Lobby Entrance, will include a larger space to assess and treat at-risk infants and children up to five years old, plus a new space for visiting clinics that will offer specialty services to local families.
“We have only one room in which to provide services to our families. We are excited about the ability to spread out and have appropriate space for all of the services we provide,” says Michele Strickland, clinical manager of Children’s Services at RVMC.
Strickland explains that the Pediatric Assessment and Therapy Services program offers ongoing care to children who have had a difficult or traumatic start in life. Some have been diagnosed with developmental disorders or
conditions such as cerebral palsy. Others may have a mild disability in hearing, vision, coordination, or learning.
In addition to increasing the quality of health for these youngsters, the program provides parent education specific to the needs of each child.
Because early detection and treatment can decrease the severity of these developmental disorders or disabilities, Strickland adds, RVMC is committed to providing services that can make a significant difference in the lives
of some of our most vulnerable children.
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NICU Expansion
An Overwhelming Success
Since opening in September 2011, the new Special Care Nursery at Rogue Valley Medical Center (RVMC) has allowed dozens of at-risk newborns to grow strong and healthy while surrounded by their families.
“Parents say that getting to stay with their babies in quiet, private rooms is wonderful,” says Michele Strickland, clinical manager of Children’s Services at RVMC.
The new 13-room expansion was built following a successful two-year campaign that raised $2.3 million—$300,000 more than the project’s goal. This second-floor Special Care Nursery is for infants who are stabilized enough to graduate from the main nursery of the NICU.
“We have consistently had nine to 13 families staying in the Special Care Nursery since it opened,” Strickland adds. Some babies stay for only a few days, whereas others stay for more than a month before they’re ready to go home. Pre-expansion, the NICU could accommodate just 20 at-risk newborns before having to turn others away, often to hospitals in Eugene or Portland. Now RVMC has room for a total of 32 infants.
“We would always rather send our babies to our sister hospital just down the road, where we can provide continuity for that family, rather than to a hospital much farther away,” says Linda Torres, clinical manager of the Three Rivers Community Hospital (TRCH) Family Birth Center in Grants Pass. “If you’re the mom who has to go two and a half hours away to be with your new baby, the NICU nursery is very important.”
Now that the Special Care Nursery is completed, Asante plans to remodel the main nursery of the NICU.
“We’re still taking donations to purchase equipment—more monitors, bassinettes, and isolettes—for the NICU,” Sue Mendenhall adds.
Asante’s Residential Facilities
Big Plans for 2012
What began as an expected overnight stay in The Family House in Grants Pass in October 2010 turned into 120 days at the Francis Cheney Family Place in Medford for Dorothy Gray of Gold Beach.
Gray’s experience couldn’t have been better, considering the fact that her husband, Bob Whitehouse, was undergoing an emergency heart valve replacement at Rogue Valley Medical Center, followed by rehab at Hearthstone Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
“You can’t beat the personnel at the Family Place for starters,” says Gray, 85. “They’re terrific.” Even more memorable for Gray was the opportunity to support and be supported by others whose loved ones were dealing with similar life-threatening challenges.
The Francis Cheney Family Place as well as The Family House near Three Rivers Community Hospital will be undergoing upgrades in the coming year, says Sharon Young, who manages both houses. Thanks to generous donations from individuals and community groups, both facilities provide housing for patients or their families, who pay what they can afford.
Family Place and Family House
Built in 1993, the 8,000-squarefoot Francis Cheney Family Place is due for remodeling after hosting an average of 1,200 people per year.
“We’ll be bringing it up to more environmentally efficient standards, giving it a fresh coat of paint, and adding new furniture and window treatments,” Young explains.
At The Family House in Grants Pass, completion of two healing gardens is expected, thanks to the volunteer efforts of the Grants Pass Garden Club, Deanna Copeland, and retired landscape architect Allan Hammer, who is designing a water feature.
In addition, Asante Foundation Vice Chair Bob Brooks is spearheading the Million Maker campaign to add to the endowment begun by the Grants Pass Association of Realtors. Brooks hopes to build a $1 million endowment for The Family House. He and his wife, Caroline, have contributed and are
hoping that others will follow their lead.
Humankind has always been endowed with a charitable spirit, but no community has embraced philanthropy more than our own. There is an understanding that giving is both a reflection of the best parts of who we are and the key to the most important work we will accomplish. Each year the generous spirit of people like you makes our work possible. Asante is a locally owned and operated, community supported organization. To support the work of Rogue Valley Medical Center or Three Rivers Community Hospital, to honor someone, or to learn about planned gifts, contact the Asante Foundation in Medford at (541) 789-5025, in Grants Pass at (541) 472-7300, or
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Reviewed by Philip Stanley on May 16, 2012