North Central Idaho is a wilderness oasis where people take great pride in their logging tradition and tourists come to follow in the footsteps of explorers Lewis and Clark and enjoy Hell's Canyon. It's in this unspoiled area that two hospitals, fifty miles apart, joined together in 1998 to serve the 25,000 people living in an area the size of Maryland and Delaware.

The two small hospitals, twenty-three-bed Clearwater Valley in Orofino and twenty-eight-bed St. Mary's in Cottonwood, also operate ten satellite medical and physical therapy clinics. They are both participating organizations of the Benedictine Health System based in Duluth, Minnesota and have a mission to provide care to anyone who needs it.

Today, the hospitals collaborate with each other, rather than compete. Clearwater Valley, located on one of the most dangerous roads in Idaho (Highway 12), runs the only emergency room between Lewiston, Idaho, and Missoula, Montana—some 200 miles apart. St. Mary's is known more for both acute and long-term care and as the place to go at any stage in life—from obstetrics to geriatrics.

The partnership has been so successful that the hospital management team was singled out in 2005 as "the Top Leadership Team in Healthcare for Small Hospitals" by HealthLeaders, a monthly magazine for healthcare executives. The seventeen combined managers, led by CEO Casey Meza, were credited for an open leadership style that fosters trust, collaboration, and autonomy.

Together, the hospitals are the lifeblood of the area and have an untold number of survivor stories. There's the baby who stopped breathing and was rushed to St. Mary's and survived. There's the teenage boy complaining of flu-like symptoms who was diagnosed at Clearwater Valley with a deadly bacteria that was eating his body. The boy was stabilized before losing any limbs. And there's the girl driving home after purchasing her new prom dress when her car veered into a river in April. The girl was brought to Clearwater Valley after spending twenty-two minutes in the cold water. She had no vital signs when she was rescued. The doctors were able to warm her up using state-of-the-art equipment and bring her back to life before sending her by helicopter to the trauma hospital in Spokane.

It's in this environment that the two hospitals implemented the Benevon Model.

St. Mary's and Clearwater Valley serve a low-income area with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. While the hospitals receive Medicare and Medicaid payments, these reimbursements don't address needs for capital improvements or state-of-the-art equipment. Together, the hospitals provide about $1.3 million a year in uncompensated care.

Jim May, the director of development, spent a year investigating fundraising models before deciding Benevon was the right approach.

May literally owes his life to this health system. Six years ago, he had a pancreatic attack and had just a two- to three-hour window to get medical care. An ambulance took Jim to one of St. Mary's satellite clinics where a doctor analyzed the situation, stabilized him, and then sent him to St. Mary's, where he stayed for a week. The hospital also later helped him recover from a heart attack.

"I'm fully recovered and frisky as ever," said May.

May was later asked to be president of the Clearwater Valley Foundation board, a volunteer position he held for four years. It was during this time that May investigated fundraising models and was later hired as director of development.

May said what he liked about the Benevon approach is that it would get the hospitals out of the entertainment business, bring in Multiple-Year Donors, and focus efforts on the hospital system's core values: hospitality, stewardship, respect, and justice. May had to sell the idea to the foundation board, the joint hospital board, and the managers. He brought a video of the model to the meetings and each hospital gave him the green light.

In November of 2003, the Clearwater Valley Foundation sent a team of five people to a Benevon 101 Workshop in Las Vegas. Their introductory Point of Entry^® Events are tours which allow guests a behind-the-scenes look at the hospitals and their stories of lives saved. The tours are often led by physicians.

The hospitals have since held three fundraising Ask Events^™—two at Clearwater Valley (in November of 2004 and May of 2005) and one at St. Mary's (in June of 2005).

At Clearwater Valley, they call their Ask Event the Golden Hour, which refers to the sixty minutes a doctor or provider has from the onset of illness or injury to better the outcome of a patient. At St. Mary's, the Ask Event is called the Circle of Life. At each event, they have two patients tell their story. Each hospital has a video that provides three more patient testimonials.

The community has rallied. The Clearwater Valley Foundation raised $100,000 in gifts and pledges for Clearwater Valley and $50,000 for St. Mary's.

"This has been the most effective fundraiser we've ever held," said May.

Jeanette Gorman, the community relations coordinator, said there are far more benefits than they expected. "We feel that through our Ask Events and tours we are planting the seeds for future gifts," she said. "The [Benevon] Model will hopefully increase the possibility that people will include us in their wills."

Gorman said the hospital system's CEO said that what's even more important than the money is the amount of goodwill these events are generating in the community. After a tour, one woman told Gorman, "Now that I've seen your facility, I feel so much safer living here."

"When they hear our story through our patients, people gain much more confidence in our facilities," said Gorman. "They talk about it to their friends and neighbors. You can't attach a dollar amount to that kind of support."

Today, the hospitals are on much better financial ground. Not only do they have a system for individual giving, but they also hired a grant writer and are pursuing efforts in corporate and estate giving.

No longer do the hospitals have to depend on special events. They've experimented with everything from dinner dances to casino nights and a golf scramble.

Today, Clearwater Valley Hospital has decided to keep two of their special events—the annual Harvest Moon Cruise dinner/dance and floor show in the fall and the wine and cheese event in the spring. St. Mary's will keep their annual golf tournament. But now they are transitioning these former fundraisers into fun social events for donors and friends (Free Feel-Good Cultivation Events^™ in the Benevon Model).

"These events have great value in bringing the community together," said May. "But now they can serve as a mini-Point of Entry."

NOTE: Please do NOT contact these organizations directly with your questions about the Benevon Model. They, just like all nonprofits, are busy fulfilling their missions, and have generously contributed their stories with the understanding that readers of our Web site will not contact them directly. Instead, please direct any questions about Benevon to info@benevon.com or (206) 709-9400. Thank you for your consideration.