It's a subject many people in women's health would rather not think about, but it's the one on everyone's mind: how to fund needed programs that often don't bring in much direct revenue.

She adds that rather than being a part of the organization's strategic plan, this emphasis on fund raising is more a method of providing needed services. "Really, it's a philosophy, because we know as reimbursements continue to shrink, we have to find ways to philanthropically help pay for these services."

Babbitts says St. Mary's umbrella-type women's program fits both a historical mission for the hospital and the emerging trend toward women-specific health care. "St. Mary's actually started as a home for unwed mothers, so we always go back to those roots, but also, there's a connection to a larger purpose in terms of the whole national trend of women's health."

Part of the Springfield, Illinois-based Hospital Sisters Health System, St. Mary's is a 148-bed medical center that prides itself on its "community hospital" status. A Woman's Place is a separate facility established in 1998 and located across the street from St. Mary's in a medical office building.

Babbitts calls the facility's location immediately off the first floor lobby "premo space." "I actually helped lead the construction project to remodel the space. What an opportunity! With more than 4,000 square feet, we have a very large area for our general public resource center," she explains. Babbitts notes that a major benefactor paid for the program's entire resource center. In addition, the facility features a childcare area, complete with playhouse -- and all furnished through donations. In fact, approximately 40 percent of the program's operating budget is funded through philanthropic donations.

In addition to Babbitts, A Woman's Place has one full-time health resource center coordinator and a part-time women's health educator -- all funded by St. Mary's -- as well as an active core of volunteers.

A fund-raising focus

"I've always had a strong partnership with the hospital's foundation, and we continue to identify unique opportunities to raise funds," says Babbitts. "Our hospital is going to be celebrating its 100th anniversary in the year 2000, so we've established something called the Century Club. We're now meeting with corporations and we're about half way to our goal of raising $100,000 by February 2000 for the women's center."

The Century Club is a one-time opportunity to raise large gifts from targeted businesses and corporations. Most of the funds will be used for capital purchases, including expansion of the women's health resource center and center furnishings.

Babbitts has also turned her attention to endowments as a way to anchor the women's program. Their first effort is the Marti Spittell Endowment Fund. "Marti is a former local TV and radio anchor who was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer," says Babbitts. "She was honored that we approached her about the possibility of the fund and was happy to lend her name and be involved in the process." Funds from the endowment will be used for reproductive cancer prevention, screening and education.

Babbitts gives a lot of the credit for creating such a strong fund-raising program to St. Mary's foundation director, Brad Murray. "There has been a firm commitment on his part to make this a success. . . . I don't have to go and beg him to raise money. He comes to me and says, 'I've got a potential donor and they're really interested in this kind of project.' Equally important, he knows his community."

Flexibility is one of the keys to a successful fund-raising strategy, says Babbitts. "If there's a donor who has a real affinity to certain kinds of things, you have to think creatively to find a niche for programs that fit the donor's interests and that would also be beneficial to the community," she points out.

A strong advisory committee

A Woman's Place began in February 1998 with a desk and a phone in an empty examination room in the hospital's family birthing center. The initial lack of a dedicated facility presented a special challenge, but Babbitts responded by creating the philosophy "A Woman's Place is Everyplace." She began marketing the program by handing out T-shirts with the slogan.

The 25-member committee comprises healthcare professionals including physicians and practitioners in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, cardiology, family practice and behavioral health, as well as community leaders and representatives from government, education and social services. "We also have a few St. Mary's staff members that sit in on the board just to make connections, including the family birthing center director, the foundation director and the vice president of patient care services."

Babbitts says the original plan called for separate medical advisory and community advisory committees. "But all I could see happening was that I would be reporting what the medical advisory committee said to the community board, and they would say 'Tell them this.' I'd get caught in the middle, and I didn't want to do that." She notes that an early advisory board member pointed to the value of such an advisory committee structure. "She said to me, 'I have to say that A Woman's Place to this point has exceeded my expectations of what it would be.' She also said, 'I really learned a lot by sitting at that table with members of the community.'"

She adds that the biggest payoff of the advisory committee was the connections to the community it provided. "The committee really served as advocates for us out in the community."

This partnership was the driving force behind St. Mary's niche as a women's healthcare leader, says Babbitts. "We wanted to be first in the Green Bay area in terms of women's health care, but we also wanted to look at how we could partner with our community -- with the YWCA, with family and social service organizations, and how we could partner with our Green Bay school system." She adds that advisory board members were selected based upon how they could be linked together. "The members reinforce each other and provide a synergy that's both good for the community and good for business."

This synergy has become so powerful, it's even piqued the interest of the statehouse. Sue Ann Thompson, the wife of Wisconsin's governor, is a breast cancer survivor and a strong advocate for women's health. "We've made a connection with her, and now her office calls us and says 'what are you doing?' If they're looking at how to get healthcare messages to constituents in northeast Wisconsin, they'll call us."

Partnering with other services

This strong sense of cooperation extends to the local and internal healthcare community, as well, says Babbitts. "We do a lot of partnering with different departments or service entities within our organization. The partnership is this: I help market their program, and if we feel it is a service that should be provided as part of women's services, I'm there to help make that happen. But they don't become my employees." She adds that the hospital makes a point of marrying revenue and expenses. "That is where we're driving business to our partners."

St. Mary's is also involved in a business partnership with the largest physician clinic in the Green Bay area. "We have a relationship with a physician group, but we don't have physicians in our center. When women call for referrals to physicians, we offer them information on services the Prevea Clinic System provides because of our business partnership," says Babbitts.

Although the center does not employ physicians, it makes a point of providing five exam rooms utilized by non-physician clinicians, including an outpatient lactation consultant and a physical therapist specializing in women's health such as eurogynecological services, pelvic floor pain, prenatal and postnatal back care, post abdominal surgical rehabilitation, post-hysterectomy care and urinary incontinence. "I view A Woman's Place as part of a larger, community hospital organization, and I really hope to facilitate services. For example, the physical therapist is not my employee and not my revenue or expense, but we make a point of providing those services at A Woman's Place without charging her for the space."

Creating an umbrella

As the only women's program in the Green Bay area, A Woman's Place remains unique within the community. "St. Mary's has always sought ways to be different," says Babbitts. She adds that it helps to have a champion within the organization. "You've got to have someone on the administrative team who really has a voice and wants to see something happen."

For A Woman's Place, that person was the vice president of patient services. "She was really the champion, the visionary. She put together a professional focus group program of local businesswomen and human service providers in conjunction with our marketing and public relations planning department. Participants were asked, 'Would women's services fly in Green Bay?' 'Would it be supported by the women in our community both by utilizing the services that it could offer and financially?' and 'Would this be something that our community would support financially because it is not going to be a direct revenue enhancer for the organization.' The feedback from the focus groups was, 'Yes, if done properly, it could be a success.'"

Babbitts notes that the initial concept for A Woman's Place was broad. "We initiated the menopause support group, which was very easy for us to start. We had a nurse practitioner who was well-versed in that area, speaks in the community often, and who was willing to facilitate a support group."

Direct marketing via newsletter

Current marketing efforts focus on the hospital's newsletter, Tuesdays Together (named after the center's educational programs) which will out to as many as 50,000 local women. "We don't have a donor for this yet, but just give me time," Babbitts quips. While the first few newsletters were homegrown, future issues will be spearheaded by Health Newsletters Direct, a turnkey newsletter consulting group. "They're really helping us to move our newsletter to that next level. Even if women never participated in any of our programs, they will still get information on breast cancer and variety of different women's health issues. And for not a whole lot more money, we're able to get into women's homes four times versus twice a year, and we get to go to 50,000 homes versus 30,000 homes." Babbitts notes that local focus groups indicate that direct mail is "hot" with women. "We get a very good return, so that is where we're putting the bulk of our marketing dollars."

Initially A Woman's Place relied on "mail backs" as a means to register participants in St. Mary's considerable educational offerings. "We got inundated with them, and it was hard for us to keep up, so we're going with a different approach this time. We're now doing all registration by phone," she says.

Focus on education

Among the other health education programs offered by St. Mary's are women and heart disease, menopause classes and osteoporosis. "My philosophy is whatever the baby boomers are going through is going to be hot," says Babbitts. "But the reality is that we are filling the room no matter what topic we put out there." Future programs will focus on long-term disease prevention and self care, as well as breast and reproductive cancers.

As a former dietitian, Babbitts sees value in promoting healthy eating in almost all education programs. "We have a nutrition flavor to almost everything we do," says Babbitts. "I support our outpatient nutrition clinic and try for one-on-one consultation, which really drives women there. But they are also a part of almost all of our education pieces. If we're doing something on heart disease, there is a nutrition component. If we're doing something on osteoporosis, there is a dietician talking about calcium supplementation and diet."

Babbitts says the staff's commitment to providing women's health services, combined with a flair for fund raising, gives her program a unique freedom to explore all facets of women's health. "When people come to me and say 'Have you thought about doing this?' I never really say no. Instead, we explore ways to meet small needs now and how we might meet bigger needs later," she explains. "The opportunities are endless."

Signature Event Makes Fund Raising Fun and Effective

A series of events sponsored by A Woman's Place, St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin, provides a truly unique flavor to women's program fund-raising efforts.

"Toast of the Town" is a series of private dinner parties hosted by prominent members of the community and featuring unique themes and settings. Event hosts donate all expenses related to the parties, so basically all funds generated go directly to A Woman's Place. Ticket prices range from $100 to $250 per person. The annual signature events, held in May and June, raised more than $85,000 this year.

Themes vary widely, ranging from 1940s Glenn Miller swing to ethnic specialties from Spain, India, France, Italy, England, Germany and elsewhere. Other dinners feature Harlem "Cotton Club" motifs, as well as funky disco themes. Among this year's titles were "Wining in the Cotswolds and Dining in Provence," "Around the World," Starry Evening on the Fox [River]," "Herzlich Willkommen: 'Welcome from the Heart,'" and "Some Enchanted Evening."

A 15-member planning committee recruits party hosts and helps sell tickets. "We have some well-respected people on this committee," says Babbitts. "For example, Madeleine Harlan, wife of Green Bay Packers president Bob Harlan, will be the chairperson next year. Madeleine loves A Woman's Place and she loves coming here to work on this event. She doesn't lend her name to many projects, so it gives Toast of the Town a real credibility." 

Michael Laughlin is a staff writer for The Ireland Report on Succeeding in Women's Health