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Friends,
Happy New (Fiscal) Year!
This month we celebrate the commencement of a new fiscal year with a look back on key milestones in 2022/2023. Read on as UNC Health Pardee CEO Jay Kirby catches us up on the year’s accomplishments. Our hearts are full of gratitude for all that you helped us achieve!
Speaking of generous partners, in this month’s Vital Signs, we’ll tell you about our new Moving Mountains Giving Society and the community of donors who fuel the work of Pardee in a transformative way. We’ll also introduce you to Ellen Reed whose story encapsulates the patient experience and the healing that you help make happen at your community hospital.
Finally, we’re just a few weeks away from our first-ever Casino Night benefit at Burntshirt Vineyards. Very few tickets are still available, so get them while they’re hot. You won’t want to miss this amazing night of fun and games – all in support of UNC Health Pardee!
With gratitude,
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Amy Treece
Executive Director
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A Message from UNC Health Pardee President and CEO James M. Kirby II
What a year of incredible growth for UNC Health Pardee! Last year, our friends and neighbors made it possible for us to respond when and where we’re needed through more than 700,000 patient encounters. I encourage you to reflect on the milestones below, which you helped make possible, and know how grateful we are for your support.
- Continued expansion of primary care and specialty practices throughout Henderson, Buncombe and Transylvania counties, including the establishment of a healthcare campus in Mills River with an ambulatory surgical center.
- A new partnership with Brevard College that provides student health services, with UNC Health Pardee Urgent Care and Southeastern Sports Medicine and Orthopedics.
- The launch of our new mobile mammography program enables the Mammo on the Go medical bus to provide screening services and a high-risk clinic to women throughout the region.
- The addition of substantial new talent brings eight new providers to the UNC Health Pardee team in focus areas of cardiology, oncology, primary care and orthopedics, with more on the way.
- We continue to strengthen our workforce pipeline through the Pardee Pathways program, removing barriers and connecting aspiring nursing professionals to the education and credentials they need in order to get to work.
As we celebrate milestones, there are urgent needs on the horizon that shape our strategic goals, including the expansion of cardiology services that will provide even more diagnostic and treatment options. As one of the last remaining nonprofit hospital systems in the region, meeting this need is our responsibility. Thank you for making our work possible with your generous investment! To give today, click here.
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Women Helping Women Luncheon Sneak Peek
We’re excited to announce that Pardee Hospital Foundation’s annual Women Helping Women (WHW) luncheon will take place on Friday, October 20 at the Blue Ridge Community College Conference Hall. Designed to provide supplementary support for women who require necessary medical treatment but cannot shoulder the costs, proceeds raised through the program help financial gaps for women in moments of greatest need. Now in its 26th year, the 2023 luncheon features Dr. Kate Bowler, New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, Duke University professor, and cancer survivor, as the keynote speaker.
Since 1997, WHW has evolved into a significant force for good within the community, beginning with a focus on recommended breast screenings and challenging stigma attached to a breast cancer diagnosis. Thanks to awareness raised through this annual gathering, women in our region now have a profoundly improved understanding that mammograms are a critical part of their personal health plans.
This year, WHW will build on the momentum of the event’s early years by expanding focus to providing better emotional and financial support to women facing a myriad of health challenges. Tickets go on sale in mid-August.
To learn more about attending as a guest or becoming a sponsor of this transformative event, contact Melissa Witmeier at melissa.witmeier@unchealth.unc.edu or by calling 828-233-2700.
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Moving Mountains
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the new Moving Mountains Giving Society at our annual donor celebration just a couple of weeks ago where we were honored to celebrate transformative donors committed to providing critically needed, unrestricted funds that address our community’s major healthcare needs.
Moving Mountains donors make annual, unrestricted contributions of $1,000 or more, allowing the hospital to utilize these funds exactly when and where they are needed the most. These gifts move mountains!
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Become a member of the Moving Mountains Giving Society with an annual gift of $1,000 or more, and enjoy the following as our way of saying thank you for your investment:
- Annual Moving Mountains Donor Celebration
- Recognition in our Annual Impact Report
Moving Mountains donors with major gifts of $10,000+ join our Pinnacle Giving Society with these additional benefits:
- Prominent Recognition in the Hospital
- VIP Reception with Hospital Leadership
To learn more about joining this vital community of generous and transformative supporters, click here.
Pictured left to right: 1) Sonja Waddell, Jean Ann Rushton and Hall Waddell are all smiles at our recent annual donor event. 2) Foundation Board Member Myra Watkins, Foundation Executive Director Amy Treece and Founding President and Chairman of the Foundation Don Holder enjoyed catching up with one another at Lake Pointe Landing. 3) Philanthropists of the Year Richard and Nancy Burns are joined by Catherine Shields at the unveiling of the Moving Mountains program
|  | Pardee UNC Health Names Taffy Edgerton Team Member of the Month | |
Taffy Edgerton, a certified medical assistant (CMA), is the July UNC Health Pardee Team Member of the Month. As a CMA in Day Surgery, Edgerton schedules appointments, draws preoperative labs, performs EKGs and prepares patients for their procedures.
A native of Hendersonville, Edgerton has been with Pardee since 2021 and chose to work with the organization to give back to the community that raised her. Her favorite part of her job is the variety of patient care she gets to provide. “My contagious smile and personality help me to have positive interactions with the patients and their families,” she said.
Her colleagues who nominated her agree. "She has a positive attitude and brings a cheery mood and lively interaction with her contagious laugh and personality.” They also celebrated her role as a team player dedicated to Pardee, her coworkers and her patients. “We appreciate her so much and want her to know how valued she is.”
The Team Member of the Month award is given to a Pardee team member who positively contributes to achieving the organization’s mission, vision and goals and showcases the many different roles of keeping a health system, like Pardee, operating and delivering patient-centered, quality care.
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A Cancer Journey
In the 10 years she worked as a director at UNC Health Pardee from 1995-2005, Ellen Reed spent much of that time as part of a strategic committee that had a goal of creating a comprehensive cancer center for the organization. Today, that dream is a reality, as the Pardee Cancer Center opened its doors in 2016. And while it’s been astonishing to see this vision come to life, Ellen never imagined she’d end up there as a patient.
In the fall of 2018, Ellen went in for what she thought was a routine hernia surgery. It turned out to be one of the most difficult days of her life. “I woke up expecting to hear that I had been healed,” Ellen shared. But the news she got was nothing she could have ever imagined: “You have cancer.” Three of the most gut-wrenching words a person can hear.
Ellen found herself back at UNC Health Pardee, but this time as an advanced-stage ovarian cancer patient. What followed was a grueling four years of chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. Reflecting on these last several years, Ellen expresses gratitude for the Pardee Cancer Center team.
“The care has been amazing,” she said. “Sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about how different my experience could have been if it wasn’t for Pardee.” Ellen shared that what’s helped keep her alive is being home and by her family – an option that hasn’t always been available. “It’s wonderful and convenient to be able to have all your care and all your physicians in one place.”
Ellen has penned a book and several encouraging articles in hopes of leaving her legacy of love and resilience. She says she will spend the time she has left honoring her reason for being here and the cancer warriors who stand beside her and do what it takes to stay alive and enjoy life. “There’s a beginning and an end, but it’s what you do in the middle that really counts.”
If you or a loved one had a special, life-sustaining experience with Pardee, consider donating through our Grateful Patients Program. These gifts allow you to honor a physician or hospital employee who went above and beyond the call of duty.
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Tickets and Sponsorships Available for Casino Night
Friday, August 25
6 p.m.
Burntshirt Vineyards
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Mark your calendar for Pardee Hospital Foundation's first-ever Casino Night, featuring casino games with live dealers, musical entertainment, delicious food and locally sourced beer and wine. Proceeds from this special event support UNC Health Pardee's growing cardiology program.
You or your business can become part of the action by sponsoring one of our game tables or food and beverage tables, or by serving as our prestigious “High Roller” presenting sponsor! Benefits are numerous and include recognition on the Pardee Hospital Foundation website, in media leading up to the event, and in the event program.
For more information about Casino Night sponsorships, contact Sarah Swartz at sarah.swartz@unchealth.unc.edu or by calling 828-233-2700.
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