Rice Health Foundation - Willmar, MN
A Tradition of Caring - Rice Memorial Hospital
The 2017 Employee Campaign kicked off on March 1st! The EVERYONE DESERVES A SMILE campaign focus is the Rice Regional Dental Clinic. Employee gifts to the Dental Clinic will be “FILLING” the needs of children and adults without access to dental services.
“BRACE YOURSELF!” Since the first Employee Campaign in 1999, employees have given $883,025!! This year’s goal of $116,975 will fill the gap for the Dental Clinic AND bring our total giving to $1,000,000!!!!
The Board of Directors of Rice Memorial Hospital and Trustees of Rice Health Foundation extend a heartfelt THANKS to all who supported the 2016 Holiday Festival events – Friday night’s Casino Royale dinner and auctions, as well as Saturday’s 25th and final Table Setting Review. Preliminary net proceeds now total $217,275, which will help provide services to patients of Rice Regional Dental Clinic who have little or no access to dental care.
We are grateful for the continuing support from area businesses, donors, sponsors, partners, physicians, contributors, guests, volunteers and staff. A special note of gratitude to all practicing and retired dentists and dental professionals, for collaborating with us to ensure the work of Rice Regional Dental Clinic continues now and in the future.
View photos from the 2016 Gala & Auction…
View photos from the 2016 Brunch & Table Setting Review…
Rice Health Foundation recently received Charities Review Council’s “Meets Standards®” seal, a visual marker on nonprofit strength. Nonprofit organizations, such as Rice Health Foundation, earn the Meets Standards® seal by voluntarily participating in Charities Review Council’s Accountability Wizard® review process. The only web-based product of its kind, the Accountability Wizard® is a time-tested tool, elevated by nationally recognized capacity building practitioners and philanthropic thought leaders. The Accountability Wizard® is based on Charities Review Council’s 25 Accountability Standards®, a balance of nonprofit sector promising practices, public expectations, and legal requirements, representing the shared expectations between donors and nonprofits.
The review process examined four key areas: Public Disclosure, Governance, Financial Activity, and Fundraising. As a result, Rice Health Foundation has aligned its practices, policies and procedures to widely accepted standards of accountability, leading them to greater strength, efficacy and to the achievement of the Meets Standards® seal. By participating in the Accountability Wizard® review process, Rice Health Foundation demonstrates responsibility, integrity and transparency to donors as well as the general public.
Rice Health Foundation’s full review report is available online at www.smartgivers.org, and the organization will also be listed in Charities Review Council’s bi-annual Smart Giver Newsletter.
For more information about Rice Health Foundation, contact Shirley Carter at 320-231-4147 or Shirley.Carter@carrishealth.com.
Rice Regional Dental Clinic was established in 2007, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, to train dental students and to meet the critical need of area residents with no access to dental services. Before the Dental Clinic opened, many of those patients sought help in the Hospital’s Emergency Department.
The Clinic has performed over 140,000 dental procedures on more than 13,000 patients from 17 counties. Patients include senior citizens on fixed incomes, the mentally ill and developmentally challenged, infants and children, and low-income working families.
Your generosity will help provide healthy smiles for thousands in the region.
Everyone deserves a smile.
This year’s financial goal is $300,000. The money we raise will allow Rice Memorial Hospital to provide community oral health services for those who have no access.
The NEW Rice Rehabilitation Center at Rice Memorial Hospital
The new 10,800 square foot Rice Rehabilitation Center brings all programs and services under one roof, providing convenient access for patients, visitors, and providers. It includes a gym for adults and one for children, locker rooms, showers, and a 4-person, variable-depth pool with an adjustable floor for easy access.
Rice Health Foundation’s Restoring Health . . . Restoring Hope capital campaign was a HUGE success. The campaign raised $1.6 million, helping make this project a reality in less than 12 months! Thanks to everyone who made a gift and volunteered their time to provide an incredible space for pediatric services.
On May 19th, Rice Health Foundation recognized and thanked 92 donors for their commitment to and support of Rice Memorial Hospital. During the event, the Harvey & Delores Pierce family was presented with the Foundation’s 7th Tradition of Caring Award, in recognition of their generosity to healthcare in our community.
John O’Neill, a graduate of the Cardiac Rehab program, and member of the Tri4evr Triathlon & Running Club, shared his story of going from flat-line to finish-line was truly inspirational!
Trustee and Board Chair, Lara Duininck was recognized for concluding her 9 years of service to Rice Health Foundation. Lynn Johnson, Director of Nursing at Ridgewater College, was introduced as a new Board Trustee, beginning her tenure in June.
Rice Health Foundation of Rice Memorial Hospital recently purchased an Automated External Difibrillator (AED) for the Barn Theatre. An AED is the only effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest and is an easy to operate tool for someone with no medical background. The Foundation teamed up with their downtown neighbor, to make this life-saving equipment available for their many patrons. Rice’s Emergency Services is just down the street, but every second counts when sudden cardiac arrest strikes.
AEDs have been available throughout Kandiyohi County for several years. The Kandiyohi County Defib Coalition has been in place for over 15 years and has distributed over 150 Automatic External Defibrillators in Kandiyohi County and surrounding counties. From the beginning, the Coalition considered requests from locations where AEDs were needed based on ambulance response time and by the population using the location. More than a dozen placed with non-profits and in public locations were made possible with designated funds raised by Rice Health Foundation.
Rice Employees have rallied together and hit their $100,000 goal out of the park, raising to date:
$112,390!
Thank you to all employees, community members, and business owners who have already made gifts.
If you have yet to make a gift, JOIN the TEAM – the GAME is not over. Your gift will help reach the Rice Rehab Campaign goal of $1.5 million. We are currently at $1,352,568 – with less than $150,000 needed to WIN the GAME!
WILLMAR, MN (February 2016) – Three-year-old Addison Doyle of Granite Falls has become quite the celebrity in recent months. Her smiling face has appeared on ads, posters, and other marketing materials for Rice Memorial Hospital’s “Restoring health. Restoring hope.” campaign. The capital campaign aims to raise $1.5 million to help fund the pediatric portion of the new Rice Rehabilitation Center in Willmar.
Addison’s mother, Marci Doyle, said they were asked to participate in a video for the new Rice Rehabilitation Center last summer. Marketing staff were so inspired by little Addison and her infectious smile, they asked for permission to use her still photos on additional campaign materials, as well. Doyle agreed.
“Addison is always so happy, she always has a smile on her face,” she said.
Addison was born with myelomeningocele spina bifida and currently receives specialty pediatric services at Rice Rehabilitation Center. Her treatment plan includes water therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In order to make her appointments each week, the family must travel to multiple locations.
The new state-of-the-art Rice Rehabilitation Center will bring all services under one roof. It will be located across Trott Avenue from the hospital, and connected via underground tunnel. The facility will include two gyms (one for children and one for adults), locker rooms, showers, and a variable-depth therapy pool.
“One of Addison’s favorite activities is playing in the ball pit,” said Jenny Iverson, Physical Therapist. “We work on gross motor skills, strength, and hand-eye coordination, but Addison just thinks we’re having fun.”
It was that photo of Addison in the ball pit that captured the heart of Rice Marketing Manager, Joy Baker.
“It was a nice, colorful photo that started out as a simple web graphic,” Baker said. “But Addison was so cute with her big smile and her ‘Believe in yourself’ t-shirt, we started using that photo on all our campaign materials.”
Now, Addison’s smiling face has appeared in ads, posters, mailers, web banners, social media posts, and construction site signage.
“Addison loves seeing her picture on that construction sign,” said her dad, Tom. “She really gets a kick out of that.”
In November, Addison and her parents were special guests at Rice Health Foundation’s annual Gala. Just before the start of the live auction, Addison and her parents took the stage where Marci gave a moving speech about the important role Rice Rehabilitation Center has played in Addison’s growth and development.
“Everyone at Rice Rehab goes above and beyond, and you can tell that they thoroughly care about the kids they work with. They 
kind of feel like family to us, and Addison is very comfortable working one-on-one with them. We truly believe that Addison has made huge strides, and will continue, because of the services offered at Rice Rehab.”
As of mid-January, Rice Health Foundation had raised $1,239,334.39 toward its $1.5 million campaign goal. Back in August, an anonymous local couple agreed to donate a $500,000 matching gift toward the “Restoring health. Restoring hope.” campaign if $500,000 was raised from the community by November 30, 2015. That challenge was met, leapfrogging the campaign to the $1 million mark.
“Now we’re on the final stretch and we really need the community’s support to meet the $1.5 million goal,” said Shirley Carter, Executive Director of the Rice Health Foundation. “This new, state-of-the-art facility strongly supports Rice’s mission to promote the health and well-being of residents in West Central Minnesota.”
Rice Rehabilitation Center opened in 1999 and has grown to offer a variety of outpatient therapy and rehabilitation services, including cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation, cancer rehabilitation, certified hand therapy, driving and wheelchair assessments, ImPACT concussion management, pediatric therapies, swallow evaluations, and strategic orthopedics for headaches, neck, and back pain.
Rice Rehab serves clients from 38 counties in Minnesota, with a primary service area of Kandiyohi, Chippewa, Renville and Swift counties. Other patients hail from Big Stone, Pope, Lac qui Parle, Redwood, Meeker, Stearns, Lyon and Yellow Medicine counties
Rice Memorial Hospital is the largest city-owned hospital in the state of Minnesota. It operates as a self-sustaining entity, receiving no tax revenue from the City of Willmar. Rice Health
Foundation raises philanthropic support for the Rice organization to address community health needs, enhance patient care, and provide health education opportunities. In 2014, Rice Health Foundation provided $1,050,400 to Rice Memorial Hospital for a variety of programs, services, technology, and equipment.
Proceeds from the Gala Dinner & Auction and Table Setting Review on November 13 and 14, 2015 exceeded the goal by at least $50,000. Financial information is not yet final, but preliminary reports indicate net proceeds will exceed $250,000.
Shirley Carter, Executive Director of Rice Health Foundation, said as she addressed the Gala crowd “I’m blown away by the numbers. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity, and for your commitment to pediatric rehabilitation at Rice.”
Three year old Addison Doyle, the cute smiling face behind the “Restoring health. Restoring hope.” campaign attended the Gala with her parents, Marci and Tom Doyle and grandmothers, Vicki Reishus and Pam Doyle. Marci shared some of their family’s journey after learning Addison had been diagnosed with spina bifida. She thanked the therapists at Rice Rehab for their support and commitment in helping Addison get stronger and improve her daily skills.
This year’s “Fund a Need” portion of the Live Auction was earmarked to help build an Outdoor Therapy Park for the new Rice Rehabilitation Center. Physical Therapists’ Jenny Iverson and Nikki Hjelden shared the need for an outdoor therapy space, and how outdoor therapy benefits patients of all ages. All gifts pledged were matched by the Pierce Family Foundation. The goal was to raise $70,000; with the Pierce’s matching donation, the total raised was almost $150,000!
The proceeds from the Gala Dinner & Auction and Table Setting Review events will go toward reaching the $500,000 Matching Gift Challenge made by an anonymous local couple. The successful weekend has put that goal well within reach.
Thank you to all volunteers, businesses and individuals who helped make the 2015 Disco Ball a success!