Generous gifts advance care through innovation - see story on pages 4-6.
360 Connable Avenue Petoskey, MI 49770
(231) 487-3500
Friends of the Foundation Newsletter is a publication of the McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation and is produced three times a year.
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Dear Friends,
While many of you may be enjoying time in warmer places, the impact of your generosity continues to be felt ’Up North.’
With support from our donors, McLaren Northern Michigan is here for your heart providing advanced care, innovative technology, and compassionate support for patients and families across our region.
In the pages that follow, you’ll see how philanthropy is strengthening heart care close to home. Generous gifts are helping add a third Cardiac Catheterization Lab, bring more heart specialists to our region, and provide new imaging tools that aid physicians in finding and treating heart disease sooner. Donors have also funded lifesaving equipment, including a new heart-lung system, mechanical CPR devices, and a specialized laser that helps treat complex vascular blockages.
Equally impactful are gifts that extend healing beyond the hospital helping patients take part in cardiac rehabilitation, supporting advanced training for bedside nurses, and providing tools that allow individuals to better manage heart conditions at home.
Together, these investments ensure that when you or someone you love needs heart care, we are here ready to provide the expertise, technology and compassion our community desires and deserves.
Elise Fisher, Chair | Ham Schirmer, Vice Chair | Courtney M. Font, CFP®, Treasurer
Miriam Hollar, Secretary | Gar Atchison, President and CEO | Robbie Buhl
David Crouse | Matthew J. Frentz, CPA | Jason Keiswetter | Matthew Krieger
Logan Lauterbach | Patrick Leavy | Kathie Nihls | James Riehl, III
Rogan L. Saal | James C. Schroeder, PhD | Tracy Souder, MA CCC-SL | Maggie Steffy
Julie Jarema, Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer
EVERYTHING YOUR HEART NEEDS
Generous Donors Help Fund Comprehensive Cardiac Services
From prevention and early diagnosis to advanced treatment and recovery, McLaren Northern Michigan is here to care for your heart. Our patients benefit from a full spectrum of cardiovascular services supported by leading technology, highly skilled clinicians, and the generosity of donors who believe in bringing exceptional care to our community.
Through donor support, we are able to recruit and grow expert cardiac teams, purchase advanced technology and offer supportive patient-centered programs. These philanthropic investments ensure that you and your loved ones have access to the care you need, when it matters most.
Provided in the following pages are some of the ways donors have supported heart health for our community over the past year.
Increasing Your Access to Cardiac Care
Provider recruitment remains a top priority, made possible in part through gifts to the Foundation’s Recruitment and Retention Fund. Over the past 18 months, donor support has helped McLaren successfully expand its Interventional Cardiology Team from one to four providers ensuring more patients can receive advanced heart care close to home.
Our interventional cardiologists perform minimally invasive treatments and advanced structural heart procedures to improve blood flow and heart function. Using specialized tools and advanced imaging, they treat patients through small, videoguided incisions rather than open surgery often resulting in less discomfort and faster recovery. These procedures take place in the specialized Cardiac Catheterization Labs at our Robert Considine Heart Center at the McLaren Petoskey Campus.
As the team has grown, so has the number of patients receiving timely, lifesaving care. To meet this rising need, generous community support has funded a $3 million renovation to open a third state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Lab. With a lead gift of $2.5 million from The Farmer Family Foundation, the new Cath Lab will open this fall expanding access to cardiac care for northern Michigan.
Joining the team in August 2025, Ryan Ber, MD is the most recent addition to our team of interventional cardiologists. He joins Nicholas Coriasso, DO, Siddharth Gandhi, DO, and Todd James, DO.
PHILANTHROPY FUNDS ADVANCED CARDIAC IMAGING
AND DIAGNOSTICS
With the support of generous donors, McLaren Northern Michigan has made a $3 million investment in nuclear medicine and cardiac diagnostics disease, cancer, and other complex conditions. Key elements of the project include:
• Nuclear Medicine allows physicians to see both the structure of the body and how organs and tissues function. This capability is especially important in cardiac care, where evaluating blood flow to the heart muscle can reveal early signs of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and other serious conditions. A new state SPECT/CT imaging system will combine functional and anatomical scans in a single session. The advanced technology will provide clearer, more precise views of the heart and surrounding structures while reducing scan times for a faster, more comfortable patient experience.
Pictured right and below: the new SPECT/CT imaging system and control room
• Cardiac Stress Testing evaluates how well the heart performs during physical activity. Aging equipment has been replaced with four new systems featuring wireless technology and new treadmills, monitors and software. These upgrades improve diagnostic accuracy, patient safety and comfort, and help care teams better assess conditions such as coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, and heart failure.
• Echocardiography uses ultrasound to create moving images of the heart for evaluating heart muscle strength, valve function, blood flow, and the size and shape of the heart all critical for diagnosing and managing cardiovascular conditions. These services have been relocated to the Imaging Department to streamline patient visits, improve care coordination,
below: Mary
RDCS performs a pediatric echocardiogram in the newly renovated Imaging Department
Please consider donating to our Unrestricted Fund to support health care in northern Michigan. Gifts of every size have a real and meaningful impact.
Scan this QR code to donate online.
Pictured
Warren,
We are deeply grateful to our philanthropic partners whose generosity makes transformative projects like this, and the Cath Lab project, possible. These gifts are helping to ensure that patients and families throughout the region benefit from advanced cardiac diagnostic technology and treatment.
Pictured below: The Imaging Department was renovated with new flooring, finishes and artwork to create fresh spaces for cardiac testing including the Stress Echo Room (top) and Stress Testing Suite (bottom)
LEGACY GIFT FUNDS A NEW LASER FOR CATH LAB AND ORs
While most hospital equipment purchases are planned well in advance, occasionally an unexpected need arises. Last year, when a laser used for cardiac and vascular procedures failed, a planned estate gift designated for cardiology provided timely funding to replace and upgrade this essential technology ensuring uninterrupted care for our patients.
The new laser system enables physicians in the Cath Lab and operating room to precisely treat blockages, using targeted light energy to help remove hardened plaque and calcification, restore blood flow, and support minimally invasive procedures.
We are deeply grateful for the thoughtful planned gift from the Don and Karen Randolph Estate. Their generosity allowed us to quickly respond and continue providing advanced heart and vascular care to the patients and families who rely on us every day.
Pictured below: Staff are grateful for the new laser system.
WE’RE HERE FOR YOUR HEART
With donor support, cardiac care for our region continues to grow the numbers below highlight the reach and impact of our heart program during 2025.
Cardiothoracic surgeons performed 134 open heart surgeries at McLaren Northern Michigan
2,126 procedures were performed in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab
2,788 inpatients were cared for in Petoskey’s inpatient Cardiovascular Unit
4,049 patient visits were recorded at the McLaren Cardiovascular Rehab Unit in Petoskey and 4,324 in Cheboygan
12,840 Echocardiograms, 1,882 Cardiac Stress Tests, and 213 Stress Echo Tests were conducted between the Petoskey and Cheboygan Campuses including inpatient, outpatient and emergency department visits
996 patients participated in the Heart Failure Clinic
INNOVATIONS THAT KEEP HEARTS BEATING
Over the past year, donor support has helped fund lifesaving equipment that keeps hearts beating during planned surgeries and in emergent situations.
• Thanks to donor generosity, our cardiac team now uses the advanced EssenzTM Heart-Lung System, which supports patients during open-heart surgery and other complex procedures by temporarily doing the work of heart and lungs while surgeons perform critical repairs.
• Generous gifts also made it possible to purchase two LUCAS mechanical chest compression systems, now serving the Petoskey and Cheboygan campuses. These automated devices deliver consistent, high quality chest compressions during cardiac emergencies that help maintain blood flow to the brain and vital organs while care teams focus on other lifesaving treatments. Thank you to the Kroeger-Mainland Family Fund and Elise Fisher for supporting these!
Pictured above: Staff pose with the new Heart-Lung System. We’re grateful to Joe and Patty Cappy for their help with funding this critical technology
HELPING HEARTS HEAL
Donor Generosity Opens the Path to Recovery
Cardiovascular rehabilitation plays a vital role in helping patients recover from a cardiac event or manage a disease diagnosis. It helps to safely rebuild strength, improve heart function, and gain confidence needed to return to daily life.
McLaren Northern Michigan’s Cardiovascular Rehabilitation programs provide medically supervised exercise, heart-healthy education, and personalized coaching designed to reduce the risk of future cardiac events. Offered at the Demmer Wellness Pavilion in Petoskey and the Cheboygan Campus, patients work closely with specialized nurses, exercise physiologists, and cardiac care clinicians who monitor progress and tailor each rehabilitation plan to individual needs and goals.
For some patients, the cost of participating in cardiac rehabilitation creates a barrier to care. Through the kindness of donors, these patients are offered scholarships to participate fully in cardiac rehabilitation and experience the longterm benefits of improved cardiovascular health.
Donor gifts also recently funded Mediterranean Diet cookbooks for heart healthy meals and upper body exercise equipment for the Cheboygan Campus.
Every gift supporting cardiovascular rehabilitation helps patients regain strength, restore independence, and return to the activities they love.
Pictured above: Jamie Schwartzfisher BS, RN connects with a cardiovascular rehabilitation participant at the Demmer Wellness Pavilion.
GIVING PATIENTS THE TOOLS TO MANAGE CHRONIC HEART CONDITIONS
Heart Failure is a chronic health condition, affecting millions of Americans. It occurs when the heart no longer pumps blood as efficiently as the body needs, making everyday activities more difficult and, if left unmanaged, can become life-threatening.
The McLaren Northern Michigan Heart Failure Clinic offers patients specialized proactive care to help them live healthier, more comfortable lives. Through close monitoring, education, and personalized treatment, the Clinic supports patients in managing their condition to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Gifts to the Foundation support the Heart Failure Clinic and its patients by funding practical tools for use at home including blood pressure cuffs and other monitoring and support items. These resources allow the heart care team to detect changes sooner and adjust treatment more quickly.
right: Hannah Duby, NP, DNP, AGNP -C is grateful for donor-funded home monitoring tools that support her Heart Failure Clinic patients.
ADVANCING BEDSIDE CARE THROUGH SPECIALTY NURSING CERTIFICATION
Patients admitted to our Cardiovascular and Intensive Care units often face complex conditions requiring highly specialized monitoring and treatment. To strengthen care at the bedside, many of our nurses pursue advanced specialty training to earn the Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) credential. This certification provides in-depth education in cardiovascular physiology, cardiac rhythm, life supporting technologies, and rapid emergency response skills that make a meaningful difference for patients every day.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, education scholarships are helping dedicated bedside nurses pursue their CCRN certification and develop advanced expertise across our cardiovascular care team. With this additional training, nurses are able to recognize subtle changes in a patient’s condition earlier, respond more quickly to complications, and provide exceptionally precise, attentive care.
Pictured
CREATIVE GIVING STRATEGY: POWER OF THE QCD
Charitable giving plays a vital role in sustaining and advancing nonprofit organizations, such as McLaren Northern Michigan, from funding lifesaving equipment to expanding access to care.
For individuals age 70½ and older, one often overlooked but highly effective way to give is through an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), this strategy can benefit both donors and the organizations they support.
Donating from your IRA maximizes your dollars to worthy causes such as McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation.
If you are 70½ or older and want to make your charitable contributions go further, a QCD allows eligible IRA owners to donate up to $111,000 per year directly from their IRA to a qualified charitable organization. Rather than receiving the distribution personally, the funds go straight to the charity. For those age 73 and older, QCDs can also count toward satisfying required minimum distributions (RMDs).
Tax Advantages for Donors
One of the most compelling benefits of charitable giving from an IRA is its tax efficiency:
• Excluded from taxable income: QCDs are not included in the donor’s adjusted gross income (AGI), unlike regular IRA withdrawals.
• RMD fulfillment: For those required to take RMDs, a QCD can meet this obligation without increasing taxable income.
Potential downstream benefits: Lower AGI may reduce taxation on Social Security benefits and help avoid higher Medicare premium surcharges.
For many retirees- especially those who do not itemize deductions- QCDs provide a way to receive a meaningful tax benefit while supporting causes they care about.
Charitable giving from an IRA is a powerful, tax-efficient strategy that benefits donors while strengthening nonprofit organizations such as McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation. By directing retirement assets toward hospitals and health organizations, donors can leave a lasting legacy one that supports healing, innovation, and healthier communities for generations to come.
Guest column provided by
Courtney M. Font, CFP® Vice President - Wealth Advisor, Crooked Tree Capital Advisors
at Farther
Courtney currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee for the McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital Foundation
Farther Finance Advisors, LLC is an SEC-registered Investment Advisor. The material presented is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. It is not a recommendation of, or an offer to trade any particular security, strategy or product. Investing in securities involves risks, including the potential loss of money, and past performance does not guarantee future results.
McLaren Northern Michigan does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult with a financial or tax advisor to determine how IRA charitable giving fits into your individual circumstance.
