> PRINT VERSION

Fresh vision.
New realities.
Momentum for the future.

Several years ago, when the leaders of the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation decided to launch a capital campaign, they discussed the vision for Truman Medical Centers (TMC), and the role this premier, two-hospital, not-forprofit health system could - and should - play in the ongoing development of Kansas City's urban and suburban communities.

They talked about the realities of raising funds for a variety of areas within TMC, funds that would benefit emergency care, mental health, women's health, the TMC Lakewood Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Don Chisholm Center for education. While planning for the future, they remained focused on serving today's ever-increasing healthcare needs of all citizens throughout the Kansas City area.

"Leading the Way" grew out of those discussions. The campaign generated incredible response, nearly doubling its original financial goal and earning three valuable challenge grants. It's a Kansas City success story, crafted by 4,665 authors.

Leading the Way

"TMC is all about people, whether we're talking about patients, the talented medical team and staff, or our generous volunteers and donors," says Terry Snapp, Executive Director of the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation. "One of our goals for 'Leading the Way' was to increase participation from current supporters and bring new donors into the fold. We also wanted to build the donor base among TMC employees."

As a first step, the campaign leadership team was assembled. The steering committee and honorary chairs proved to be an inspired group of volunteers, providing valuable experience, guidance and support throughout the campaign.

While two earlier goals were surpassed, the final philanthropic goal of the "Leading the Way" campaign was to raise $50 million, to be divided among endowment, programming and capital funds. The specific campaign goals were to fund:

• Expansion and renovation of the TMC Emergency Department, the busiest Level One Trauma Center for adults in Kansas City, and the purchase of life-saving ER equipment

• Enhanced neonatal intensive care resources that would increase the survival chances of premature babies and other newborns with critical care needs

• Development of a learning academy where TMC employees could access continuing education programs or pursue a nursing career or college degree

• Renovation of a floor within the TMC Behavioral Health building for the New Frontiers mental health program, a structured day program providing clients with the vocational and social skills needed to lead productive lives in our community

• Much-needed health programs and screenings for women of all ages and circumstances.

The capital campaign was also dedicated to reinforcing the financial foundation that allows TMC to provide accessible, quality healthcare to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. TMC is Kansas City's primary "safety net" hospital, and relies on private philanthropy and public funding to deliver quality healthcare to the community.

While TMC is known for delivering that accessible healthcare and serving all patients, the hospital is also positioned to flourish as a hospital of choice, given the revitalization of Kansas City's once-dormant downtown community. With the forward-thinking leadership at TMC, the ongoing support of the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation, and the tremendous success of the "Leading the Way" capital campaign, TMC today has a fresh vision, new realities and momentum for the future.

A Fresh Vision for the Future

TMC has clearly stated its vision: "Leading the way to a healthy community."
That vision encompasses more than healthcare for the uninsured or under-insured. It encompasses more than healthcare for trauma patients. It encompasses healthcare for us all.

It's a fresh vision, powerfully articulated by John W. Bluford, TMC President
and Chief Executive Officer.

"Our vision is to make Truman Medical Centers the destination of choice for patients throughout the Greater Kansas City community," Bluford says. "We're doing this by delivering exceptional healthcare quality, sincere compassion and unsurpassed customer service."

Bluford has led TMC since March 1999, and is focused on changing the hospital's culture to ensure positive clinical outcomes and excellent customer service while attracting a diversified base of patients and payors. As part of that cultural change, Bluford encouraged TMC employees to participate in the capital campaign, and was delighted by the response and results.

"In conjunction with the work being done by the foundation, we created a highly visible employee giving program called 'Proud to be Truman,'" he says. "At the final count, we had received gifts from 747 employees. That's a tremendous outpouring of support from the administrators, nurses and staff who are working every day to turn our vision into a reality."

The campaign also benefited from TMC's longtime relationship with Hartsook Companies, a national fundraising consulting firm dedicated to providing creative capital campaign strategies that maintain the highest standards of excellence. The approach for this campaign was simple, direct, and designed to bring in unprecedented funding without compromising annual giving. Potential donors were identified and approached with the facts: TMC is providing exceptional healthcare to thousands of people; it is a huge asset to the Greater Kansas City community; it is positioned for even greater success; and it deserves our support.

Those facts were persuasively backed up by outside recognition. TMC has been recognized as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for asthma treatment by U.S. News and World Report; a "Top 100 Hospital" by Solucient for ranking among the highest in improved patient outcomes and financial performance; and a "Most Wired Hospital" by Hospitals & Health Networks. In conjunction with the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Truman Medical Centers also has received the designation of National Center of Excellence in Women's Health by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. In addition, CEO Bluford was recently named one of "Healthcare's 100 Most Powerful Leaders" by Modern Healthcare magazine.

The strength of the hospital's performance and the power of its vision were essential to the campaign strategy. The "Leading the Way" campaign was an encore TMC performance for Hartsook; the consulting firm also guided the strategy and implementation of the hospital's first capital campaign, a $20 million effort concluded in 2000. That inaugural campaign dramatically raised the level of philanthropic involvement with TMC and changed the way local, regional and national donors viewed the hospital system. As a result, it helped set the stage for future success.

Success! Every Way You Count It

As Chair of the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation Board of Directors, Neil T. Douthat was part of the "Leading the Way" campaign from the very start, and was a driving force throughout. His belief in the quality, services and potential of TMC is evident.

"Those of us who have chosen to be involved in TMC understand that this hospital system is way ahead of the curve when it comes to providing the very best, state-of-the art healthcare services to everyone - regardless of ability to pay," Douthat says. "Through the 'Leading the Way' campaign, we were able to communicate with people and organizations that hadn't been touched by that message before, and their response was overwhelmingly positive."

Douthat points with pride to the fact that the campaign succeeded in numerous ways.

"We exceeded our $50 million goal, by $5.25 million," he says, "and that is a real testament to the power of the TMC vision, the strength of the TMC team and the generosity of our community. We raised the requested monies for designated programs, and dramatically increased the number of donors."

These major projects also benefited from challenge grants, provided after the community met specified financial goals. Each challenge was met, and the monies earned. These highly sought-after funds consisted of two Mabee grants, $1.5 million and $1.3 million, and a Kresge grant for $1 million.

"It's important to note that our success in 'Leading the Way' goes beyond the bottom line," Douthat says. "We hosted 700 people on our hospital campuses during this campaign. We reached a new generation of younger donors through TruFriends and the Women's Health Partner's Council. We increased foundation board leadership from seven to 20. And we created an important new constituency with vendors and suppliers, securing gifts from 90 different companies."

The campaign flourished with major community involvement - 380 volunteers
served on nine separate fundraising groups. Their dedication led to tremendous results: The campaign received gifts of $10,000 or greater from 268 donors, with 147 making their first gift to TMC. Overall, companies and organizations comprised 517 donors; foundations accounted for another 127 campaign gifts. The vast majority of gifts - 4,021 - came from individuals, many of whom were first-time donors.

The scope of donors was also impressive, including community members; employees; members of the hospital leadership team; directors on the hospital and charitable foundation boards; vendors and physicians and their related organizations.

Leading the Way also:

• Created TMC's first fundraising collabo- ration with Children's Mercy Hospital

• Led to the creation of six permanent volunteer fundraising groups: Lakewood Philanthropy Board; Women's Health Partner's Council; Behavioral Health Partner's Council; TruFriends; Proud to be Truman; and the Vendor Committee

• Created the first Eastern Jackson County donor constituency, raising over $2 million for the NICU project on the Lakewood campus near Lee's Summit

• Developed a new geographical base of donors in Kansas, particularly in Johnson County

• Established TMC as a national leader in mental health philanthropic funding through the successful New Frontiers initiative

• Built annual event income to more than $500,000

• Elevated TMC's public profile as a major charity of choice in the metropolitan area

The true bottom line? The campaign created transformative momentum for the future. A perfect example of this is the campaign's success in increasing membership in the William Volker Heritage Society from 15 to 84. Volker, who helped shape Kansas City in the early 20th century, died in 1947, leaving a generous estate gift to TMC's predecessor, Kansas City General Hospital. This gift allowed the hospital board to create a permanent endowment and establish the charitable foundation. Volker Society members are donors who name the Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation in their estate plans. Their forward-thinking generosity, coupled with the support received today, help ensure the future strength and success of TMC, the hospital of choice for Greater Kansas City.