November 03, 2003
2004 Genesis Health Services Foundation Gala To Support Cancer Care, Nursing Scholarships
Davenport, IA - Quad Cities cancer patients will experience improved treatment, and young people interested in pursuing nursing degrees will get financial help, with money raised through the 15th annual Genesis Health Services Foundation Gala, set for Saturday, March 13, 2004. The event will be held at the Davenport Outing Club. Volunteer members of the Gala Committee, who organize the charity event, recently determined the funding priorities.
The Gala Committee is pledging $50,000 toward scholarships to students pursuing a baccalaureate degree in nursing at area colleges and universities, such as St. Ambrose University, the University of Iowa, Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Mercy College, Coe College or Clarke College. The scholarships are awarded as $5,000 forgivable loans, meaning repayment will be waived if the recipients agree to work full-time at Genesis for two years upon completion of their degrees. The scholarship program creates a relationship between the student and the hospital in hopes the relationship will develop into a nursing career at Genesis. It is the third consecutive year Gala funds will be used to address the nationwide shortage of nurses.
Additional money raised through the Gala will go toward the purchase of a PortalVision computer imaging system for use with the Cancer Center's linear accelerator, a radiation therapy device used to treat tumors. Using PortalVision instead of film, the physician can more accurately position the patient for treatment, reducing the adverse effects of radiation on healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. The system's real-time imaging speeds up treatment by replacing the time-consuming and anxiety-producing process of having to take one or more x-rays of the tumor in order to position the patient properly for the radiation therapy.
"Deciding what projects to support is always a difficult decision because there are a number of health care issues in our community," says Rick Flaksman, M.D., Medical Director of the Genesis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, who along with his wife, Cindy, is chairing the 2004 Gala Committee. "We believe nursing scholarships are important incentives to attract new nurses into the profession and to Genesis. Adding technology that improves treatment and eases the anxieties of cancer patients certainly meets the Genesis Medical Center mission of providing compassionate, quality health care to those who need it."
A total of more than $1 million has been raised through the previous 14 Genesis Foundation Galas. Proceeds from the 2003 Gala funded 11 nursing scholarships and the purchase of portable x-ray units used when patients in areas like the intensive care units, emergency room or operating room cannot be transported to Radiology.
The Genesis Health Services Foundation exists to develop, manage and grant charitable support to meet the health-related needs of the Quad Cities and surrounding communities. Annually, it raises more than $1 million dollars toward community and Genesis Medical Center programs and services. The Foundation's charitable donations have helped fund a variety of services and equipment that improve patient care, ranging from transportation for outpatient rehabilitation patients, to a hospital infant security system to state-of-the-art dialysis machines.
Anyone interested in donating an item for the 2004 Gala silent and live auctions, or in making a contribution to the Genesis Health Services Foundation, call 563-421-6865.
