Woodard Family Foundation makes lead gift to Cottage Grove Community Medical Center’s Swing Bed Program

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore.- A lead gift of $50,000 from the Woodard Family Foundation has jump started fundraising efforts for the Swing Bed Program at PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center.

The Swing Bed Program allows for PeaceHealth patients from Cottage Grove and the surrounding area to recover and rehabilitate close to home following hospitalization at another facility, such as PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. Patients who are recovering from stroke, cardiac care, orthopedic care or other significant injury or illness can recuperate closer to their homes in the Cottage Grove area rather than remain in hospitals elsewhere.  

Swing Bed Program patients are provided skilled nursing care, physical therapy, nutritional counseling, social work support, occupational therapy, speech therapy and spiritual care.

“While serving as the first board president of Cottage Grove Hospital in 1952, my grandfather created the W.A. Woodard Foundation with a commitment to this community and geographic region,” said foundation president Casey Woodard. “Later renamed the Woodard Family Foundation, with continued family involvement and strategic grantmaking the foundation remains committed to his vision of supporting and sustaining local healthcare.”

The lead gift is part of a $100,000 fundraising effort to expand and add new specialized equipment for the Swing Bed Program. Items include:

• Durable Medical Equipment: Tilt-in-space wheelchairs, new recliners conducive to rehab, single-point and quad canes, specialized ADA shower equipment, aerobic stairs and therapy gloves.
• Assessment Tools: Fiber-optic endoscope, occupational performance tool, cognitive level screening, behavioral memory test, oral memory strengthening device and neurological assessment battery.
• Daily Living Activity Therapy Tools: Washer, dryer, tremor gloves, cookware, driving simulator and personal care devices.
• Motor Function Support: Movement tracking therapy with balance equipment, musical instruments, art supplies, an indoor golf set, tablets and multisensory items for dementia patients.
• Capital improvements: Renovations of occupational therapy simulation space.

Swing Bed Program patients make up the majority of PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center’s inpatients, who stay in hospital care from one week up to three months. A total of 259 patients have been treated in the Swing Bed Program since its inception in 2017.  

“We are excited to partner with donors and invest in our Swing Bed Program and patients,” said Alicia Beymer, chief administrative officer of Cottage Grove Community Medical Center. “This lead gift from the Woodard Family Foundation is another important milestone in our partnership, and we appreciate the tremendous impact they have made on healthcare in our region.”   

To inquire about the Swing Bed Program fundraising campaign, please contact Erika Swanson with the PeaceHealth Foundation at 541-222-7100 or eswanson2@peacehealth.org.

About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 900 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.