Posted 1:05 am Saturday, April 21, 2012
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Mother Frances Mounts Capital Campaign
By EMILY GUEVARA
Staff Writer
With strong backing from the community, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics announced a $2 million capital campaign aimed at bringing a comprehensive women’s center to its main Tyler campus.
The announcement came during the annual Pearls and Promises Gala at Villa di Felicita on Friday.
This year the gala was named Diamonds, Pearls and Promises in honor of the hospital’s 75th anniversary.
During the gala, the Women’s Board of Trinity Mother Frances Foundation announced its contribution of $1.4 million toward the $2 million goal.
Staff Writer
With strong backing from the community, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics announced a $2 million capital campaign aimed at bringing a comprehensive women’s center to its main Tyler campus.
The announcement came during the annual Pearls and Promises Gala at Villa di Felicita on Friday.
This year the gala was named Diamonds, Pearls and Promises in honor of the hospital’s 75th anniversary.
During the gala, the Women’s Board of Trinity Mother Frances Foundation announced its contribution of $1.4 million toward the $2 million goal.
Since 2006, the board has raised funds to support women’s and children’s services.
“It’s very exciting to finally be able to do this the way we’ve always wanted to do it,” Lindsey Bradley, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics president, said after the announcement. “We have great care for our patients. We’ll have great facilities, too.”
Bradley said that from the start Mother Frances Hospital has placed a high priority on serving women and children.
However, as time has gone on, the facilities for these patients have aged and the hospital has had no opportunity to update them.
Bradley said that with the The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital opening in December, Mother Frances will have the opportunity to reorganize some spaces, making way for the new women’s unit.
The heart patients will move into the new hospital while those on the fifth floor of the Dawson Tower will move into Ornelas Tower where the heart patients were.
That frees up the fifth floor of the Dawson Tower for renovation and use as the new Women’s Unit, which will be called “A Woman’s Place: For Healing. For Health.”
The state-of-the-art unit will provide for 27 spacious, new private rooms. The rooms will be decorated and equipped to care for a variety of women’s services including postpartum, c-section recovery, women’s urology and women’s plastics/reconstruction after breast cancer surgery, according to a prepared statement from the health system.
“It’s very exciting to finally be able to do this the way we’ve always wanted to do it,” Lindsey Bradley, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics president, said after the announcement. “We have great care for our patients. We’ll have great facilities, too.”
Bradley said that from the start Mother Frances Hospital has placed a high priority on serving women and children.
However, as time has gone on, the facilities for these patients have aged and the hospital has had no opportunity to update them.
Bradley said that with the The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital opening in December, Mother Frances will have the opportunity to reorganize some spaces, making way for the new women’s unit.
The heart patients will move into the new hospital while those on the fifth floor of the Dawson Tower will move into Ornelas Tower where the heart patients were.
That frees up the fifth floor of the Dawson Tower for renovation and use as the new Women’s Unit, which will be called “A Woman’s Place: For Healing. For Health.”
The state-of-the-art unit will provide for 27 spacious, new private rooms. The rooms will be decorated and equipped to care for a variety of women’s services including postpartum, c-section recovery, women’s urology and women’s plastics/reconstruction after breast cancer surgery, according to a prepared statement from the health system.
Bradley said the hospital will be able to start work on this project in December and he expects it to be complete by mid-2013.
A video presentation shown during the event showed some of the challenges that exist in the current women’s facilities. Some of the rooms have no showers so women have to walk down the hall to use one. The showers are not all able to accommodate larger patients. And in some of the rooms, furniture must be rearranged if a stretcher needs to be brought in because of space constraints.
The older portions of the hospital were built in 1962 and last remodeled in 1986, according to the statement.
Officials said the facility upgrades will bring the patient experience to a new level by providing the best possible environment for healing and recovery, according to the statement.
A video presentation shown during the event showed some of the challenges that exist in the current women’s facilities. Some of the rooms have no showers so women have to walk down the hall to use one. The showers are not all able to accommodate larger patients. And in some of the rooms, furniture must be rearranged if a stretcher needs to be brought in because of space constraints.
The older portions of the hospital were built in 1962 and last remodeled in 1986, according to the statement.
Officials said the facility upgrades will bring the patient experience to a new level by providing the best possible environment for healing and recovery, according to the statement.
Mary Lauren Faulkner, chairman of the Women’s Board of the Trinity Mother Frances Foundation, said that at its beginning, the board focused on raising money and awareness about Family Care Centers, which serve the underserved and uninsured women and children.
She said the board is concerned about the care of women from the beginning of life to the end. She said by taking care of mothers, they positively affect a whole generation of children.
She said the new women’s unit is going to be a place where women can go for compassionate care regardless of their health care needs.
Bradley said the amount of money and the opportunity to do the project came together at the right time to make this possible. He and Ms. Faulkner thanked the community for their contributions.
“We’re very overwhelmed,” Ms. Faulkner said of the support. “We’re very humbled by the support of this community for this project.”
She said the board is concerned about the care of women from the beginning of life to the end. She said by taking care of mothers, they positively affect a whole generation of children.
She said the new women’s unit is going to be a place where women can go for compassionate care regardless of their health care needs.
Bradley said the amount of money and the opportunity to do the project came together at the right time to make this possible. He and Ms. Faulkner thanked the community for their contributions.
“We’re very overwhelmed,” Ms. Faulkner said of the support. “We’re very humbled by the support of this community for this project.”
