The Giving Tree

Additional articles on giving from Vision, Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center's quarterly newsletter:

Charitable Gift Annuities

Memorial Giving

Legacy Giving

Contact Pattie A. Clay Foundation:

859-625-3602
By e-mail:  mareitadaugherty@pattieaclay.org

(Reprinted from Autumn, 2003 issue of Vision)

I hold a certain envy for those who write or speak poetically, so I collect eloquent, witty or thought-provoking quotes.  Among my favorite is the Nelson Henderson quote, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” I am sure that  image as vivid and insightful—even inspirational—for you as it is for me!

At Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center we are often reminded of those who planted the saplings that today provide our community with significant ‘shade’ and comfort.  There was Pattie Amelia Field Clay herself, who worked  throughout her life caring for Richmond’s sick.  Her husband, Brutus, was so inspired by her compassion that when Pattie died, he donated a cottage on Glyndon Avenue to house the first Pattie A. Clay Infirmary.  That one small cottage—big enough for only 11 patients—grew into a 105-bed medical center that today provides significant emergency, acute and preventive care services for our community. By offering a cottage he no longer needed, Brutus Clay set the stage for a medical facility that has—so far—spanned 111 years, 12 decades, three centuries and two millenniums.  That’s a lot of shade!

Lesser known than the Clays, but also important are several benefactors who made the commitment to assure that their charitable interests extended far beyond their lifetimes.  Donald Walker, and his sister Madge, established two trusts to benefit Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center.  Income from the Donald Walker trust is helping to pay for the renovations currently underway in the hospital’s Women’s Care Center. 

Robert L. Telford, the son of  First Presbyterian’s legendary pastor of the same name, supported many worthy organizations throughout his life.  As he grew older, he established the Telford Foundation so that his giving would continue far into the future.  And continue it has. The Telford Foundation each year provides generous grants to the 12 organizations named in Mr. Telford’s will, Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center included. 

The annual Telford gift has supported the hospital’s nurse-midwife program and is partially responsible for its success. This year’s allocation will help fund Pattie A. Clay’s pulmonary rehabilitation program, which provides multi-disciplinary clinical rehab services for our patients with emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other pulmonary diseases.  The service is vital for these patients.  As one participant expressed, “There was a time I couldn’t wash my face and brush my teeth without stopping to rest in between.” 

Not always is such legacy giving of direct monetary support, but valuable all the same.  What if Sophia Burnam and Mary Gibson Christopher had not had the forethought and energy to establish the Pattie A. Clay Auxiliary (today known as PACA) in the early 1960’s?  PACA volunteers have helped the hospital purchase medical equipment, renovate facilities, and provide special services for the women and children who come to Pattie A. Clay for care.  In fact, in 32 years of PACA Charity Balls, over $600,000 has been raised for such purposes. 

The legacy value of gifts like Clay’s or Telford’s cannot easily be estimated, but one thing is for sure.  Without the support of such forward thinking and charitable individuals, many programs like pulmonary rehab or renovations like that going on in the Women’s Care Center would not be possible in this era of shrinking health care dollars and rising operating costs for hospitals.

Sometimes, when we get discouraged, we lament, “What can one person do?”  I can tell you what one person can do, because I have seen first hand the shade cast from those trees that have been planted over the years to make our community’s health care services better and stronger.  Find your shovel and come join us.  There are trees a plenty to plant.

11/03

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