Bonner General Health Foundation honors its donors

When the Bonner General Health Foundation Board strategized on maximizing its fundraising efforts for the Bonner General Health Emergency Department remodel, they came up with a unique idea. Why not acknowledge those who have supported the foundation's efforts with a permanent place of honor in the hospital?

"Being a critical-access, nonprofit hospital, we rely heavily on our generous donors' support to provide exceptional healthcare close to home," said Molly Behrens, community development coordinator for Bonner General Health. "We wanted to honor the donors who made the Emergency Department remodel possible by including them in a permanent work of art in the waiting room. In addition, we created the donor wall to be portable, so it will remain a part of BGH history as the hospital continues to remodel and expand in the years ahead."

During the Foundation's campaign that ran in conjunction with the Heart Ball earlier this year, 19 donors gave a minimum of $5,000, two of whom gave $10,000 or more.

"Of the $200,000 donated to Bonner General Health's Emergency Department from the Bonner General Health Foundation, $105,000 was raised through the donor wall," said Behrens.

There was much thought and effort that went into the design of the wall; the end product is a beautiful tribute to the donors and the beauty of Sandpoint.

Anyone who has been to the BGH campus knows the hospital loves to showcase local artists. So when the foundation and the community development department started discussing the idea of a new donor wall, they knew they wanted it to be a work of art rather than a list of names on a plaque.

"We researched online for other examples, and two things became apparent - we wanted to highlight our town's beauty, and we wanted it to be made locally," explained Behrens.

The foundation landed on incorporating the outline of Lake Pend Oreille into the design. They worked closely with Jen Meyer of Bonner Media, who suggested that they use photo placeholders for additional plaques that may be filled later.

"We loved the idea of showcasing more of our beautiful town, adding an extra pop of color, and allowing other donors to be listed after production," said Behrens.

For Meyer, it was an honor to be involved in the project. "The donor board was a really special project for our business because we had only been up and running for about six weeks when our name was referred to BGH to submit a design idea," said Meyer.

Realizing there was an emphasis on using Lake Pend Oreille, Meyer designed it as the center focal point of the entire piece using polished acrylic and a high-end blue metallic vinyl that catches the light.

Meyer, who spent a great deal of time on the project, designed and cut the main panel to resemble a mountain range along the top.

Her time included designing and mockup, selecting the suitable materials, sourcing all the components, having all the pieces cut and polished, creating all the donor plaques, and then assembling them and mounting them on the wall.

"The entire production took nearly two months, but at least a month of that was spent waiting our turn to have all the acrylic pieces cut by a fabrication shop because they were booked solid with work," explained Meyer. "I'm so pleased that the finished piece ended up as designed without having to stray much from the original design and layout."

Justin Dick, President of the Bonner General Health Foundation Board, said many people are not aware that the hospital is a nonprofit and hopes that others will continue to support BGH for years to come. "It's essential to us that we recognize our donors," said Dick of not just those on the donor wall but all of their supporters. "Those who contributed to the recent remodel have forever changed the landscape of the Emergency Department, and for that, we are grateful."

If you would like to be listed on the hospital's donor wall, please contact Molly Behrens at 208-265-1005 at Bonner General Health.