Hospital accepts gift from Hadsell Trust
Patient record keeping at St. Luke Hospital is going digital, due to a significant donation from a local charitable trust.
ChartLink is a web-based, computerized patient information system that provides secure and interactive access to records by medical personnel anytime and anywhere they are needed.
Louise Colburn, her son David, and Robert Brookens, representatives of the Lorraine Hadsell Charitable Trust, presented a $25,000 gift Friday to St. Luke Hospital Foundation treasurer Kevin Fruechting, to enable purchase of the software.
"What we're looking for ChartLink to do is to allow us to keep more patients and tests here in the facility that we've been sending out," said St. Luke Hospital administrator Jeremy Armstrong.
"Where doctors might have wanted to transfer their patients to another facility, since they can see patient test results and sign off on dictation and other orders they have on the Internet, they can keep those patients here," Armstrong said.
Armstrong indicated as soon as they have an approved bid from CPSI, Inc., the vendor for ChartLink, and a system for physician licensure fees, the hospital will be ready to move on installing the system.
"We're excited to get started on this," he said.
The gift from the Hadsell trust also provides funds for a new freezer and food carts for the hospital's dietary services, as well as new flooring for the hospital nurses' station.
"My grandparents, the Hadsells (LaVern and Lorraine), were strong supporters of St. Luke Hospital," said David Colburn, grandson of the Hadsells, pointing out their service to the hospital governing board and St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary.
"Given their commitment to St. Luke, my mother, sisters, and I believe a gift to improve the quality of patient care at St. Luke is an excellent and wholly appropriate initial distribution from the Hadsell trust," Colburn said.
Along with the funds donated Friday, St. Luke Hospital Foundation received an additional pledge from the Hadsell trust for up to $20,000, to assist in the purchase of a bus for transportation of residents of St. Luke Living Center.
Colburn indicated the Hadsell trustees were impressed with the fund-raising efforts St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary has made toward the purchase of such a bus.
"The auxiliary has done an incredible job raising funds this past year," said Colburn. "We wanted to recognize this effort by supplementing their funds, so the bus can be purchased now, rather than waiting several more months."
"My grandmother hoped her trust would serve as 'seed money' to encourage others in Marion to donate their time, talents, and money for the betterment of the community," Colburn noted.
"Partnering with the auxiliary in this way is something we think she'd be pleased to support, particularly knowing how much she enjoyed going on excursions when she was at the living center," he concluded.
Colburn emphasized this donation is the first of many the Hadsell trustees intend to make to charitable causes in Marion.
"My grandparents were strong believers in giving back to the community," he said. "We are looking forward to continuing their legacy of giving through the activities of the Hadsell trust."
