Ben and Adith Miller Golf Classic: 27 holes and a whole lot of generosity

One hundred and twenty-five years ago our hospital opened its doors and, with an unwavering mission, has been taking care of the Winona community ever since. It’s important to understand that we haven’t traveled our path alone all these years. Winona has been blessed with a compassionate and generous community. The Ben and Adith Miller Golf Classic, an annual event that began in 1990, is a prime example of that generosity. Established by Benjamin Miller in 1986 in honor of his wife Adith, the Golf Classic is the major fundraiser for the Ben & Adith Miller Patient Care Fund, a unique community resource that helps people in need pay for medical care at Winona Health. Every year for the past 29 years, generous individuals and organizations have come together at the Classic to play the 18-hole Main Event and the 9-hole Green Monster Challenge, but the event is so much more than 27 holes and a day on the golf course. Those who support the Ben and Adith Miller Golf Classic ultimately help our fellow community members when they need it most. The situations healthcare providers and staff at Winona Health see every day, illustrate the crucial needs of our patients:

• A patient came in to the ER and found he needed surgery for a gallbladder issue; he was worried about the cost. This patient is single and has a $3,500 maximum out of pocket, but said he could only afford $50 a month as most of his income went to rent and car payments and he didn’t want the additional debt. He said he would wait if it was going to cause him to go into more debt.
• Another patient had broken her wrist and didn’t want to be seen in Urgent Care until she knew what her insurance would cover. While waiting on the phone with the insurance company, the patient said that if it cost too much, she was not going to get treatment and would deal with the outcome later because she could not afford to have it fixed. The good news is that her out-of-pocket was within her budget.
• Patient and wife had preventive labs but their specific health insurance plan only covered preventive services for those under 24 years or over 50. They were 45 years old and the full balance was sent to their deductible. This was a change made by their employer two years ago and they were not aware of the change.

These are not isolated situations, rather they happen daily. As our community’s health system, we care for everyone who comes in our doors. Over the years, thousands of individuals and families have received support from the Ben and Adith Miller Patient Care Fund. In 2018 the Patient Care Fund provided $971,672 to 803 individuals. And the need is not decreasing … here are some facts to date in 2019, and these are similar to 2018:

• A total of 595 individuals have received financial assistance. As a side note, we assist people in enrolling in any insurance program they qualify for.
• Patient Care Fund recipients ranged in age from 6 weeks old to 88 years old; the average age was 37.
• Average income was $34,473. The average maximum out-of-pocket amount ($6500), runs 20% of that; and that doesn’t include the premium dollars paid in.

The top issues leading to the need for assistance through the Patient Care Fund include having one or more chronic conditions that results in the bills piling up OR an emergency situation resulting in the need for some type of procedure—something that could happen to any of us. There is no question that the need for the Ben and Adith Miller Patient Care Fund still exists. Long ago, Ben Miller saw the importance of a thriving hospital as being vital to a prosperous community. Through creating the Patient Care Fund, he also directly helped his community members. His vision continues today through the Miller family and our many donors and sponsors. On behalf of the Patient Care Fund recipients, the Winona Health board, the medical staff, our employees, and our community, we are deeply grateful to Ben and Adith Miller’s son Hugh and his wife Vera, the Miller family, RTP and all of the Ben and Adith Miller Golf Classic sponsors and supporters. Please take a moment to review all those listed. Their part in supporting our community matters so much to so many. Main Event Title Sponsors Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Maroon Group Merchants Bank RTP Company SGL Carbon Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC Victrex USA Hole Champions ABF Freight Altra Federal Credit Union Anthony Ostlund Baer & Louwagie P.A. Ascend Performance Materials Bluff View Estates Celanese Cerner Columbia Recycling Corporation Family of Sada Miller Goldberg Fastenal Founders Grant Thornton LLP Gundersen Health System Indelpro INVISTA S.a.r.l. Muehlstein NEG-US NXC Imaging Remembering Geoff Gardner Rich and Mary Ostlund Family Foundation Schwab Construction Shell Oil Products WA Group Wiman Corporation Wincraft Winona Health Winona Heating & Ventilating Co. Wm. Miller Scrap Iron & Metal Co. WNB Financial Green Monster Hole Sponsors All Trades Service Digicom, Inc. Fremont Water Solutions Jumpstart Sales, Inc. Miller Ingenuity Premier Security, Inc. Rachelle and Bob Schultz Reed’s Tree Service S2S Architects* Staples Winona Health Winona Health Volunteers Donors CliftonLarsonAllen LLP Ideacom Mid-America Kendell Lumber KEY Electric and Automation Inc. Paul and Peggy Killian Theresa McCamley Joe and Leslie Miller Jonathan R. Miller Family Fund of The St. Paul Foundation Orient Corporation of America Stacy Rubsam and Elizabeth Draxten US Foods Xcel Energy

Rachelle Schultz, EdD President/CEO

Through this digital column, I hope to shine a light on what we’re working on both internally and beyond our walls in collaboration with other community-focused organizations.