The Spirit of Giving

Barb and Tom are long-time Salem residents. He worked for the Oregon Department of Transportation for 24 years, and she worked for the Salem Hospital medical staff for 29½ years.

They spent some time sharing their thoughts about the Community Health Education Center project, and why they chose to financially support this exciting addition to the hospital campus.

What motivated you to make your first gift to the Salem Hospital Foundation?

When Judy Manselle, a long-time hospital employee and previous Vice President of Patient Care, died in 2003, it had a profound affect. Judy was so passionate about patient safety and providing the very best care to our patients and their families that we felt a contribution to the Salem Hospital Foundation in her memory would keep her commitment to providing high quality patient care alive.

What do you think the benefits of the Community Health Education Center will be for this community?

Everyone in the community will benefit from this Center. Salem Hospital’s patients and their family members will easily be able to receive timely, accurate medical information about their particular disease process and recovery.

The state-of-the-art education center will be an excellent resource to assist everyone in our community in being responsible for their health and well-being by having access to the latest information on healthy lifestyles and diets. And also, if they need to, use services available through the wellness kitchen and support group room.

Why do you think it’s important to support the project?

We strongly support the Community Health Education Center project because it is directly aligned with Salem Hospital’s mission to strive to improve the health and well-being of the people and community we serve. And because it’s just a really wonderful project that will benefit the entire community in so many ways.

What words of encouragement do you have for anyone thinking about making a gift to the Foundation in support of the new center?

Just do it! Every contribution, no matter how large or small, will help reach the goal of having this valuable resource right here in our community.