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History On January 17, 1921, Lawrence Memorial Hospital first opened its doors at Third and Maine streets in a renovated frame house. To fill a community need, the Social Service League and the City Commission started LMH as a not-for-profit municipal hospital. Less than 10 years later Elizabeth Miller Watkins funded the construction of LMH’s original 50-bed building, which opened in 1929 and was the pride of the community. To accommodate a growing number of patients, additions were added to the building in 1937, 1956 and 1969. Over the years, hospital administration worked to acquire property around the building. Because of the hospital’s not-for-profit constraints, it did not have the ability to carry funds over from one year to another. As a result, once land became available for sale, LMH did not have enough accumulated money to purchase it. Donations and bequests were occasionally given to the hospital by grateful patients, but the funds were kept in an informal memorial fund that was exhausted each year. Organizing an endowment association became the most logical option to remedy the hospital’s need, especially with the successful example set by the Kansas University Endowment Association. When Dr. Phillip Godwin was LMH Chief of Staff in the late 1960s, he contacted KU Endowment President Dolph Simons, Sr., for advice. Mr. Simons agreed to help facilitate the process of starting an endowment for LMH. From 1965 to 1969, planning and legal opinions were explored. Five community leaders stepped up as founders, each with the shared interest of seeing that their community hospital benefited most efficiently from its gifts and donations. Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association
was incorporated by Dr. Monti Belot, an internist; Anne “Petey”
Cerf, an involved and generous community member; Dr. Phillip Godwin,
an anesthesiologist and family physician; Dr. Laurence Price, a
pathologist; and Dr. Ralph R. Reed, an internist. On October 22,
1969, the Association began its corporate existence. The Association began with a five-member Board of Directors and a 15-member Board of Governors, all of whom were elected by the incorporators at the first annual meeting on February 2, 1970. The two-board system of 20 positions was established to encourage broad awareness of the Association throughout the community. The Board of Directors was responsible for all management of the Association, though the Directors did not vote. In addition to the five members, the LMH Chief of Staff and one member of the LMH Board of Trustees served as ex-officio members of the Directors. This was later changed to the CEO of the hospital and a representative of the LMH Board of Trustees as the ex-officio members. The Board of Governors served as the voting body.
The Governors were responsible for electing new members to replace
those on both boards whose terms had expired. Generally, they recruited
community members who were interested in the hospital and had a
working knowledge of finances. In its early years, the Association worked to
raise funds primarily by spreading awareness of itself. This was
done by sending letters and hosting luncheons for area attorneys,
who could assist community philanthropy by suggesting to clients
that they remember the hospital in their wills. The Association
also hosted auctions to raise money, auctioning items donated for
the events. In 1984 the Endowment Association was worth approximately $65,000. By 1987 its fund had grown to $500,000, all of which was conservatively invested in certificates of deposit. Around this time the Association changed its investment strategy and invested in mutual funds, stocks and bonds. By November 1992, the Association’s assets had grown to $1 million, a long-awaited goal. Half of the income from the Association’s investments was distributed to the hospital each year for equipment, education and other projects. The Association’s funds have never been used for operating expenses of the hospital and the investments have been professionally managed. In October 1992, a fund raising walk was held, but because of weather concerns it was decided to bring the event indoors. October 1993 marked the first annual Stepping Out Against Breast Cancer dance, raising money for women unable to afford mammograms. The event started with the desire to educate the community about breast cancer, and it brings more creativity from hospital staff and endowment supporters each year. The next year, 1994, a national healthcare provider came to Lawrence with the intention of purchasing LMH. Representatives from both the national provider and LMH spoke at public forums hosted by the hospital, and loyalties were split between members of the community – many wanted to keep their community hospital, but others welcomed the established healthcare chain to Lawrence. Sticking to the values of a true community-minded
organization, LMH administration sent the message that their hospital
was not for sale. They stood by the philosophy that healthcare is
not for profit. In response, the national healthcare representatives
soon announced they were going to build a hospital of their own.
They first built a Surgery Center at Clinton Parkway and Kasold
Drive, but they did not proceed any further. LMH had been complacent as the only hospital in town, but the national provider’s presence changed that. The community became interested in understanding the hospital better. The other benefit that came out of the national provider’s presence in Lawrence was the opening of LMH South. In 1999, the out-patient facility took over the space that the national provider once occupied. The Association has assisted LMH South by purchasing two colonoscope instruments and a 12-lead EKG machine. In 1997, the Endowment Association restructured its organization in order to increase business efficiency and communication. This process left only the Board of Directors, its number of positions increasing to 12. In 1998 the Association hired Kathy Clausing as Vice President and Chief Development Officer, its first full-time staff member. Since then, her devotion to the Association’s development has led to a significant increase in gifts to the hospital. Prior to 1999, LMHEA gifted an average of $20,000 annually to LMH, in 1999 that amount increased to $286,585. In 1999, at Clausing’s lead, the Association held its first biannual Hearts of Gold Ball. The Ball was created by a group of dedicated volunteers in response to an opportunity to host the only black tie event in Lawrence and the need to raise awareness of LMH as a not-for-profit charitable hospital. Growing larger each year, the Ball involves hundreds of volunteers and over a thousand participants. Each event has raised money for a specific need at the hospital. In 2003 it was held in honor of Bob Billings, a popular Lawrence philanthropist and 13-year Endowment Association Board of Governors member. He served as board president in 1989. The 2003 Ball brought in an unprecedented $440,000, as many community members stepped forward to recognize his admirable service to the community. The money raised will fund a cardiac evaluation unit at the hospital. In recent years, the Association has also funded a Pediatric renovation, LMH lab equipment, palliative care, continuing education for LMH associates and much, much more. Money raised by interest from the endowed funds is distributed throughout the hospital according to a contributor’s wish or as requested by LMH administration. Decisions for the Association are determined by the majority vote of its Board of Directors, which was increased to 15 members in 2003. That same year marked its most successful year, raising net proceeds of nearly $1 million. The association has assets of over $4,000,000. |
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LMHEA Timeline 1921 1929 1997 ............................................ |
