Built by the community 62 years ago, Longmont United Hospital has had lots of support over the year. For the last 40 years, its foundation has been part of that support system.
"There is not another health-related charity in our community that has been around for 40 years," said Cindy Noble, director of Longmont United Health Health Foundation.
Since the beginning, the Longmont United Hospital Foundation, or LUHF, has assisted the hospital “to bring valuable resources in personnel, in dollars, in a fabulous health care facility,” Noble said. “The foundation was created in the acknowledgement that they could do good things for the hospital.”
LUHF was founded in March 1981 with Ken Huey — the first administrator of the hospital — George Landers, Ruth Lehman, Dr. D.W. McCarty, Joe Johnson and Carol Oswald-Yoakum making up the first board of trustees.
At its founding, the foundation’s purpose was to help the hospital with capital projects such as expanding the hospital and purchasing equipment.
“The foundation was instrumental in completing a lot of the capital improvement projects such as the patient tower, the new emergency department and the Hope Cancer Center,” Oswald-Yoakum said.
One of the programs Oswald-Yoakum is most proud to have helped the foundation start is the Innovative Learning Center at the hospital.
In this center, firefighters, first responders and EMTs can use simulators to practice techniques that will be used in the field, Oswald-Yoakum said.
“It teaches staff, our first responders and even the high school kids that are interested in maybe going into the medical field. It’s a really nice learning tool,” she said.
While that role has not changed as the hospital continues to update equipment as medicine modernizes, the foundation has expanded its services to include a focus on program, the largest of which is its scholarship program.
The scholarship program began in 1990 when Ann and Bill Boettcher donated $2,000 in seed money to the program. The program received a $1 million donation from the Stewart Family Foundation in May.
“Bill and Lila Jean Stewart were never afraid of progress while still celebrating the heritage of the communities that brought them prosperity and joy. The Stewart Family Atrium is a fitting tribute to the Stewarts that continues their lifelong commitment of community goodness and kindness,” Noble said.
The foundation’s scholarship program has given out $1.5 million for health career scholarships since 1991 and is constantly evolving to meet the needs of hospital providers, Noble said.
This fund not only encourages individuals to pursue higher education in health but it has been adapted to help nurses and other staff maintain certifications as well as the nonclinical staff who supported the mission of the hospital.
“Nursing and other clinical staff need to maintain certifications to keep their learning at a current level and to be the best in their profession. In the past, that has fallen on the individual to take care of and to pay for those certifications ... The scholarship committee recognized that that is something we could do to support another component of their continuing education, so they get to be a nurse and maintain their specialties,” said Shirley Lemmex, business support for LUHF.
Tara Horne, supervisor of cardiopulmonary services at LUH, is a recent recipient of a $2,500 scholarship. The scholarship allowed Horne to pursue a Master’s degree in hospital administration and strategic planning from Denver Univerisity.
“It was so exciting. It was nice to be recognized all the hard work that I was putting in. I wanted this degree because I can use it to help our hospital and our patients and our community with the knowledge that I”ve received with my classes, Horne said.
“Most of all, the foundation is just an arm to make the staff feel valued, not only by the foundation but by their community. That’s our number one emphasis in the work that we do. We want them to feel valued and appreciated and provide the resources for them,” Noble said.
According to Kassandra Dickerson, the staff feel that level of support from the foundation.
Dickerson is a clinical coordinator charge nurse in the LUH intensive care unit who began in the kitchen as a tray passer. Deciding a career in health was what she wanted to pursue she began to explore what it would take but couldn’t do it without the help of the hospital and the foundation. She received two scholarships over the past few years to pursue her bachelor's and later her Master’s degree in management and leadership from Western Governor’s University.
For Dickerson, the peace of mind of having less education costs has allowed her the freedom to pursue a higher education while raising a 3-year-old child.
“... trying to pay for college and have a 3-year-old and work full-time and everything else and still paying off old student loans for an associates degee, I don’t think I would be able to do it,” Dickerson said.
During COVID, the support of the foundation was exceptionally appreciated. According to Dickerson, LUHF supported the staff by trying to create a “happy place” for them to work by providing food treats, a new coffeemaker, new couches and organizing the staff locker room and by simply finding chairs for patients and their family members to sit in.
“They’re (the foundation) essential to us … they’re wonderful. I just love them so much. We wouldn’t be where we are now if we didn’t have their support,” Dickerson said.
In addition to making life more comfortable for staff, LUHF has spent $250,000 to refresh the hospital over the last year and a half. The refresh project includes upgrades to day surgery facilities, new floors in the operating rooms and to provide more modern accessories in both the hospital's ICU and birth place locations.
"The foundation is playing and will continue to play an integral part in the refreshing of the hospital," Noble said.
“The whole program (the entire foundation) has been really rewarding. Everything we’ve done has been a benefit to someone or some organization in our community,” Oswald-Yoakum said.
Carah Werthiemer contributed to this article.
