Caring Relationships - Gundersen Health System

On a tour of Gundersen Lutheran this fall, Gov. Thompson (pictured above,
third from right)
Shaping the Future of Healthcare
through Philanthropy
In 2005, Tommy G. Thompson, former Governor of
Wisconsin, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human
Services, and current President of Logistics Health, Inc.,
joined the Board of Directors of Gundersen Lutheran
Medical Foundation. Having dedicated his professional life
to public service, Gov. Thompson is a passionate advocate
for the health and welfare of all Americans, particularly
the Gundersen Lutheran service region he calls home. His
familiarity with successful healthcare models and best
practices from around the country gives him a unique
perspective on the role of innovation in finding creative
solutions to the healthcare challenges of the future. On a
tour of Gundersen Lutheran this fall, Gov. Thompson shared
his views on the critical role of philanthropy in healthcare.
“Philanthropy is more important today than ever
before. All we have to do is look at the financial problems
of our federal and state governments to realize there will
not be as many taxpayer dollars available for healthcare
in the future. How is that void going to be filled? It’s
going to be filled by the great generosity of individual
benefactors like Jon and Betty Kabara. It’s going to be
filled by other people of the same abilities, who choose
to contribute to the Gundersen Lutherans of our world
so they may continue healing, teaching, and serving the
greater good. That, to me, is the definition of a compassionate
society.
“Gundersen Lutheran is a philanthropic role model
in and of itself, providing thousands of dollars of
uncompensated care to people who need it. The
Foundation does a tremendous amount of societal good
every single day through medical education and research,
and reaching out to help people who need it. If we want
a more perfect world, it is going to be the innovations
in science and healthcare that will lead the way. In that
sense, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation is a
beacon of hope showing us the way to a better future.”
Major Gift Establishes
New Cancer Research
Institute at Gundersen
Lutheran
On the day of the news conference announcing the
creation of the Dr. Jon and Betty Kabara Cancer
Research Institute at Gundersen Lutheran, Jon
Kabara spoke of losing his grandfather to cancer when he
was only seven years old. “This sounds corny, but I had
a conversation with God and told him ‘when I grow up, I
hope I can find a cure.’ But I also said: If you can’t wait for
me to grow up, it’s okay if somebody else finds it.”
Dr. Kabara dedicated his entire adult life to science
and research. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree
in chemistry from Saint Mary’s University in Winona,
Minn., he went on to receive his master’s degree in organic
chemistry and doctorate degree in pharmacology at the
University of Miami, Miami, Fla., and the University of
Chicago respectively. He has been a professor at Michigan
State University for 20 years, and an investigator in
biochemistry for the past 50 years, all of it in lipid research.
Both he and his wife Betty have seen the terrible toll
cancer has taken in the lives of those they loved. For this
reason, they became passionately committed to sponsoring
research directed toward specific aspects of nutrition and
lipids in cancer biology in the hopes of uncovering new
pathways to its cause and cure. Having funded an earlier
research project for the Foundation under the direction of
Dr. Steve Callister, the Kabaras already had an enormous
respect for the work being done by the medical staff and
researchers at Gundersen Lutheran. In February, they made
a $1,000,000 gift to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation
with the intent to create the Cancer Research Institute
that now bears their name.
“We were surprised to learn the Kabaras were making
this extraordinary gift because they are not from the
area and had not received their care here,” said Mark V.
Connelly, MD, FACS, chairman of Gundersen Lutheran
Medical Foundation. “It’s a testament to our organization
that they recognized the strong tradition of research at
Gundersen Lutheran. Their generous gift and their remarkable
commitment to finding a cure for cancer will take our
10 www.gundluth.org/foundation