Foundation

Why Seven People Found It in Their Heart to Give to the Foundation

Story #1: Dale Quimby, Lynn Andersen and Sally Duncan

Nursing Director, Dale Quimby, Trauma System Manager, Lynn Andersen, and Trauma Outreach and Injury Prevention Specialist, Sally Duncan, don't just work at Memorial Health System’s Trauma Center, they also implement and oversee community outreach programs designed to prevent traumatic injuries. The three Memorial trauma professionals have the same goal, which is to "put the trauma system out of business."

The three main community outreach programs are:

1. Trauma Nurses Talk Tough – Memorial Health System’s Emergency and Trauma Center develops and sponsors free presentations to community teens that show the consequences of driving while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol or driving without a seat belt. This hard-hitting program helps teens realize that crashes and serious injuries don’t just happen to other people. 
2. Safe Kids Colorado Springs® - The goal of Safe Kids Colorado Springs is to reduce preventable childhood injuries among children ages 14 and under in the Pikes Peak Region through public awareness, education, policy advocacy and community action.  Safe Kids Colorado Springs has representation from more than 25 community agencies. 
3. ThinkFirst – A national injury prevention program was founded by America's neurosurgeons in an effort to decrease the leading cause of childhood death and disability – unintentional injury. This program, geared toward elementary school students uses public education to help children “use their minds to protect their bodies.”    

These programs would not be possible without donations from the community.  Funds are used for helmets, car seats, outreach and education.  USAA has been a supporter by supplying infants born at Memorial Health System with a free car seat, if needed. 

Dale Quimby has been with Memorial since 1986 and has always been involved with emergency and critical care.  Her passion is outreach and education. "Most of our programs are geared toward helping children develop health lifestyle choices, but we are developing programs to reach more adults." Dale takes pride in that Memorial is a health system that not only takes care of the community when it is in need, but it supports community outreach programs. “The secondary benefits of our programs are that parents learn lifestyle changes through their children’s education.”      

Dale also oversees the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) program. 'The SANE program is one of the best in the state. We ensure the examinations and documentation is done as accurately as possible so the evidence can help ensure proper follow up by law enforcement."

"Everyone I work with is here because we take care of the community no matter what," says Dale. Many people have made a career here for the very same reason. I left Memorial for a short time to assist with opening another hospital. When I came back, I got so many hugs; it felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. You can’t find that at every job." 

Sally Duncan and Lynn Andersen can’t imagine working anywhere else. "Memorial truly cares about the patients, their families and the community."

 

Story #2: Dan Balch, M.D., Anesthesiologist 

Dr. Dan Balch didn't dream early on in his career that he would be living in Colorado Springs or that he would be Memorial Health System’s Chief of Staff. 

As a California resident, Dr. Balch's education started at the University of California, Davis, Oral Roberts University, and he received his medical degree from Ohio State University in Columbus, where he earned a pediatric fellowship in anesthesia. "My dream was to work with children, and after graduation I had the opportunity to work at Dayton Children’s Hospital."

"During that time our family was looking to relocate, and some of our friends asked us if we had ever considered living in Colorado Springs. I was looking for a position, and a nurse I worked with at Ohio State called a doctor at Memorial Hospital. I interviewed, was hired, and in 1995 we moved to Colorado Springs and became an anesthesiologist with Memorial."  

"I love working with children. When they come to a hospital, they are scared. I kneel down next to them, rather than towering over them. I talk to them and make them feel at ease."

"The staff at Memorial is very passionate about taking care of patients, and there is a strong sense of team," says Dr. Balch. "I feel very honored to have this position. Every day people trust me with their lives. I stay current so I can take the best care of people that I possibly can."

 

Story #3: Teresa Heckel, Oncology Service Line Associate Administrator

Teresa Heckel was hired by Memorial Health System in 1992 to facilitate the opening of its new Cancer Center. She started working directly with cancer patients as a radiation therapist 24 years ago, and as her career has grown, she has never lost sight of what is most important…the patients. "At Memorial, our focus is on providing the most comprehensive and compassionate care to all the patients we serve. It speaks to our values.  When your focus is on the patients, you make the best decisions, and the rest will follow."

Teresa's passion is shared among the entire staff, which provides patients with the specialized experience, technology and treatment plans that make for the best possible cancer care. It's the staff that made Memorial’s cancer program the only in southern Colorado to achieve the Outstanding Achievement Award for from American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer.

Memorial Cancer Center has added four new doctors over the last year and a half. "I love that Memorial has the ability to provide patients with the most comprehensive cancer care available. All services, including in-patient care, can be provided right here so patients don’t have to travel to different locations to obtain services. From prevention, early detection, treatment, in-patient care, support services to survivorship, we aim to ensure our patients have what they need to fight this disease."

"I feel it's a privilege to care for cancer patients and their families during such a difficult time in their lives. It shows the great trust they have in us to do the best we can for them."

 

Story #4: Gayle Beshears, Donor

Gayle Beshears is "hooked on the Memorial Health System Foundation." Gayle, a Texas native who fell in love with Colorado Springs, is passionate about the care given to this community by Memorial Health System.

He became hooked when he participated in the "Women’s Call to Action" breakfast to raise funds to purchase Colorado Springs' first digital mammography machine. Gayle's mother and sister both experienced breast cancer, and at the breakfast he heard the personal stories of two other women going through the same disease. 

These two women made such an impression on Gayle and the women and men in the audience, that together, enough funds were raised to purchase the first machine. Subsequently, Memorial Health System made it a priority to transition all of the film machines to digital mammography. Gayle’s motivation to make this possible was to save lives in this community through better detection. "After the breakfast, I got phone calls, letters and e-mails from people I don’t even know thanking me," says Gayle.  

When the digital mammography machine was installed, the staff at Memorial’s Breast Care Center invited Gayle to view the machine and threw a pot luck lunch in his honor. “The staff over there is just amazing,” he says. “All of us who live in Colorado Springs need to realize that Memorial is there for us, regardless of our ability to pay.  The people of this community own it, but not a penny of our tax dollars are spent to support it.  Memorial is a very special place that we all should be grateful for. I’m hooked on Memorial and always will be.”

 

Story #5: Linda F. Halbouty, Donor

“All of us have had a near death experience. The memory of how Memorial took care of us is as vivid now as it was then….”

Linda Halbouty’s first encounter with Memorial Hospital occurred in 2004 when her husband, Lonnie, experienced a heart attack. “The ambulance picked Lonnie up and brought him to Memorial.” At that time, Lonnie had no doctor and no health insurance. “From the moment we arrived at the hospital, he received the best care and unbelievable attention. I like to say he was treated like the President of the United States. Then I looked around at other patients in the Intensive Care Unit and saw that all were being cared for in just the same way. We were frightened, and the staff knew exactly what we were concerned about. They answered our questions before we even asked.”

A few days later when Lonnie was home recovering, Linda picked up the newspaper and saw an advertisement for applications for the Memorial Hospital’s board of trustees. “It was ironic that I picked up the paper that particular day because I’m usually too busy to read the paper. I saw the ad, applied to be on the board of trustees, and here I am. After serving on the board, I feel I’m an excellent advocate for Memorial Health System in this community because I experienced it firsthand as a regular citizen who needed help.” 

“My love for Memorial Health System is such that I have given donations of appreciation and have designated a gift through my will. Over time I hope to give more. Every dollar that people can give helps to perpetuate the love and care we experienced at Memorial. Lonnie and I send our heartfelt thanks to all the staff on behalf of the patients who will be cared for long after we’re gone.” 

 

Story #6: Patrick, Stephanie and Baby Caroline Kerscher, Patients

“The experience at Memorial was amazing the whole way around,” says Patrick Kerscher. Patrick and his wife Stephanie selected the Memorial Health System and the new Memorial Hospital for Children to have their first baby. They made this decision because "if something were to happen, the level of care available to them at Memorial would be higher and more complete than anywhere else in Colorado Springs." It was an easy choice for Patrick and Stephanie to choose the hospital that “could handle any issue we could possibly have, either with me or the baby,” says Stephanie. She was also excited about the recent renovations and the private rooms that awaited her arrival.   

Patrick and Stephanie checked in on April 21, 2008. Stephanie was given medication to induce labor. Little baby Caroline was born on April 22 via Cesarean Section. “The staff was so helpful and communicative. They explained step-by-step what procedures were being performed and what to expect during the entire process.”

The following day Caroline was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It was in the NICU that her doctors began to notice signs and symptoms consistent with Down syndrome. Tests were conducted and the symptoms were confirmed. Caroline spent two weeks in the NICU, getting her feeding and oxygen levels under control. “The nurses and staff in the NICU were incredibly patient and understanding with me; there was so much I didn’t know, being a first-time mom and dealing with Caroline's health issues. I had to learn how to change a diaper and handle thyroid issues all at the same time. The staff helped me with everything! They truly made an overwhelming experience something I could handle,” said Stephanie.

During the time when Stephanie and Patrick weren’t with the baby, they spent time in Colorado’s only Ronald McDonald family room, which they said was a delightful experience.  Patrick commented, “There are showers, scrubs to wear, comfortable chairs, a television and computers for internet access. It was a great connection with the outside world, and an area to rest and relax, as our entire focus was on Caroline.”