PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Highland Park, IL ... - Wordspecs

we would be inundated with applications that were not in our bailiwick.
Our concentrated area is where Highland Park Hospital works, and that’s
where we want to remain.
So to be more specific, what do you look for?
We determine the program’s proximity to our hospital service area. Who
is their target population? Does this part of Lake County need that kind of
program? What is the financial need of the program and of the people
served by the program? How stable is the program—management,
governance, fiscal soundness. We also have to have a way to evaluate the
effectiveness of the program. When the applicant is a newer program,
without a history, we want to look at their actual spending, which is one
method of measurement in the early days of an organization.
Well, now, every home and business in Highland Park and Highwood is
going to know about the Foundation. Are you prepared for that?
There is no limit to what we will do. We want to give away the money,
we want to support healthcare in the area. We ask everyone to demonstrate
how much of their service is going to the Highland Park Hospital service
area. For example, take Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. They were able
to identify specific numbers of people served in our area, so we felt this was
a worthy grant.
And who serves on the board?
Right now, we’re a combination of new people and some who served on
the old foundation board. We have both Mayors Dan Pierce and Mike Belsky.
We recently brought on Jesse Peterson Hall (president of the hospital),
because we like the connection to the hospital itself. One of the things we do
at every meeting is get a hospital report.
In addition to Mike, Jesse and Dan, Robert D. Appelbaum (Secretary),
Robert Lund, Sandra S. McCraren, Lawrence R. Miller (Treasurer) and
Ronald G. Spaeth serve on our board.
Are you looking for new board members?
The board can be expanded. I will talk to anyone who wants to serve.
It’s a great board. We always have an eye out for people who have a sense
of community, a sense of charity and a willingness to serve.
What do you see in the near future for the Foundation?
Because of the economy, I think that charities are going to be hurting,
and we would very much like to help. I think we’ll be able to honor all 31
grant requests, and as the economy recovers, I think we’ll be able to
increase the number of new grants by five or six a year. I’m very critical of
the insurance industry and our government, I’m discouraged that they just
can’t put together something that makes sense. Until a public/private
solution can be engineered, we’ll continue to address the needs of people
here who do not have access to health care. The need for what we do
continues to grow, especially in a recessionary economy.
Healthcare Foundation of Highland Park, 610 Central Avenue,
Suite 200, HP, 847-681-2450, jstyer@mesirowfinancial.com
Deborah Spector Barry is the principal at Wordspecs Advertising
Agency and executive editor of six00threefive magazine. She consults
on start-ups and expansions of owner-operator enterprises, including
visual branding, media buys and ad campaign execution.
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