As St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw prepares to open in early February, the communitywide fundraising campaign to benefit the new Franciscan Health System hospital is within about $350,000 of its $2 million goal.
“It is a rare and special event for a community to have the experience of seeing a brand-new hospital open,” said Jon Flora, president of the Franciscan Foundation. “We are very grateful for the generous support we have received thus far from individuals, families, businesses and other organizations.”
Patient care begins at St. Elizabeth Hospital on Feb. 2.
The Campaign for St. Elizabeth is a collaboration of the Franciscan Foundation, which is part of the Franciscan Health System, and the independent Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation. Proceeds from the campaign purchase special equipment, artwork and other amenities that might not otherwise be in the new hospital’s healing environment.
To date, the campaign has nearly 450 donors. To make a donation or obtain information, call 253-428-8411 (1-888-814-3740 toll free) or send an e-mail to FHSfoundation@FHShealth.org
A $600,000 contribution from the Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation is the single largest gift thus far. The formal name of the new hospital’s emergency department will honor the Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation’s generosity.
Other major donors include:
• The estate of late Enumclaw/Black Diamond businessman Dwight Garrett and his wife Doris, and their family, which donated $100,000 and for whom the prominent circular driveway to the hospital’s main entrance will be named;
• Franciscan Cornerstone Club, a Franciscan Health System employee-supported philanthropy, which donated $100,000 and for which the hospital’s café will be named;
• Enumclaw Insurance Group (which includes Mutual of Enumclaw), which donated $50,000 and for which the hospital’s main lobby will be named;
Additionally, the footbridge in the outdoor healing garden at St. Elizabeth Hospital will be named in memory of Elizabeth Crews. Her family and friends raised $25,000 and donated the sum to the Campaign for St. Elizabeth in the child’s memory.
“The opportunity to link the name of a special person or a loved one to a new hospital usually comes along only once in a lifetime,” said Megan Farr, co-chair of the Campaign for St. Elizabeth, a local attorney and immediate past-president of the Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation board of directors. “That opportunity exists now in our community. This is a wonderful way, at a truly unique time, to honor an individual’s life and preserve that person’s legacy.”
Being built at 1455 Battersby Ave., directly across from the existing Enumclaw Regional Hospital, St. Elizabeth will be one five hospitals in the Franciscan Health System. The others are: St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma; St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way; St. Clare Hospital; Lakewood; and St. Anthony Hospital, Gig Harbor. St. Elizabeth will replace Enumclaw Regional Hospital, which joined the Franciscan organization in 2007 and will be razed to make room for additional parking.
