LMH Endowment Association marks 50 years with a new name and an expanding purpose.
| 2018 Q4 | story by writer Courtney Bernard | photos courtesy LMH
The Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association (LMHEA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019 with a renewed purpose and a new name: the LMH Health Foundation.
This board-directed transition follows Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s (LMH) overall corporate identity shift to LMH Health in August. LMH Endowment simultaneously changed its brand identity to mirror LMH Health and will continue with the formal name change on Jan. 1, 2019.
“Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s shift to LMH Health is a change meant to recognize the ever-expanding role this organization plays in creating a healthy community in Lawrence and beyond,” explains Jason Hoover, LMHEA board president. “Just as LMH Health has grown to serve a much larger purpose, to be your partner for lifelong health, so must LMH Endowment.”
Since its inception in 1969, the LMH Endowment Association has played a vital role in ensuring exceptional health care in the Lawrence community and beyond. LMHEA provides nearly $2 million of donor support to LMH Health each year. Donor contributions have contributed to major projects, including the heart catheterization lab renovations and the LMH Health West Campus. 2018 was a record year for LMH Endowment gift transfers to LMH Health.
“From its original founders to its most recent board of directors, the organization has helped donors connect with LMH Health in new, meaningful and evolving ways. We believe that our new name, LMH Health Foundation, better reflects our renewed purpose under LMH Health,” says Rebecca Smith, LMHEA executive director. “The new direction will help us support and shape LMH Health and the greater Lawrence community for the next 50 years.”
LMHEA’s 50th anniversary celebration will begin with its annual meeting on Feb. 28, 2019, and continue with a 50th-anniversary celebration on June 22, 2019. More details will follow at lmhendowment.org.
About LMH Health
LMH Health, formerly Lawrence Memorial Hospital, was founded in 1921 and includes a 174-bed hospital located in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as a number of primary and specialty-care clinics throughout Lawrence, Douglas County, Jefferson County and Leavenworth County. LMH Health is a community-owned, not-for-profit hospital that serves the health-care needs of the community regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. LMH Health receives no tax support from the City of Lawrence or Douglas County. Dedicated to serving as a partner for lifelong health, LMH invests all excess revenues in services, equipment and facilities, which further that mission.
About LMH Endowment Association
LMH Endowment Association, a 501 (c) (3), leverages more than $13 million in philanthropic assets to provide average annual donor support of more than $1.8 million to LMH Health. The organization is governed by a board of directors, which guides programs to grow investments in patient care, community education, charitable care, wellness and more. In January 2019, the organization will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a new name: LMH Health Foundation.
