Partners in Health campaign heats up

Partners in Health campaign heats up

Partners In Health, the internal faculty and staff giving campaign, is under way through June 30.

The campaign supports Vanderbilt University Medical Center's academic mission and provides a way for faculty and staff to support the areas they are most passionate about.

All funds stay within the Medical Center, and donors may direct funds toward a school, department or program of their choice.

The focus of Partners In Health is participation at every level, not the size of the gift. This year, the participation goal is 50.01 percent.

As of April 1, the current participation level was 30.54 percent. Four departments have already reached a high level of participation: Thoracic Surgery (100 percent), Emergency Medicine (81.63 percent), Medical Education and Administration (53.33 percent) and Neurological Surgery (50 percent).

The 2009 campaign raised more than $1.6 million with 43 percent faculty participation.

“We all have a personal stake in the financial health of Vanderbilt,” said Roger Cone, Ph.D., professor and chair of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Obesity and Metabolism.

Cone is serving as a campaign co-chair along with Carol Etherington, M.S.N., R.N., assistant professor of Nursing and associate director of Global Health Studies for the Institute for Global Health, and Corey Slovis, M.D., chair of Emergency Medicine.

“We all have the responsibility to show our colleagues within the Medical Center and beyond that we support the mission and values of Vanderbilt. If we do not make a strong commitment to giving, we can't ask others to contribute in this time of economic tightening,” Slovis said.

The Partners In Health Web site can be accessed at www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/partnersinhealth. Visitors can track campaign progress, make a donation via credit card, set up a payroll deduction, read giving stories and get resources to encourage donations.

For more information, call the Partners In Health campaign office at 343-7531 or e-mail PartnersInHealth@vanderbilt.edu.