The Southwest Memorial Hospital Foundation, the fundraising arm of Southwest Health System, has supported medical equipment purchases for SHS for about 25 years. Its cancer assistance program joined the foundation in 2014. As Colorado Gives Day approaches, the foundation aims to raise money for additional hospital equipment.
The foundation, according to board members Jeanne Becker and Austan Koller, operates with two governing bodies that form the hospital organization: the Montezuma County Hospital District and the Southwest Health System board.
The Montezuma County Hospital District maintains the hospital building and infrastructure, while the Southwest Health System board oversees operations and ensures “we have a hospital here in the community.” The foundation, as a nonprofit entity, focuses exclusively on raising funds for capital equipment, with a separate cancer patient assistance program.
“All the money we raise is used for equipment,” Becker, who joined the foundation board nearly a year ago, told The Journal. “Equipment that has either become outdated or is too hard to repair. You can’t get parts for it, or it’s new equipment the hospital needs to provide new, expanded services.”
Because Southwest Memorial Hospital is a community-owned hospital, it doesn’t have or benefit from shareholders. Unlike for-profit hospital systems, SHS relies on community donations, with the foundation’s help, to bridge the gap for major equipment purchases the operational budget can’t cover.
Becker said donors give for many reasons, including gratitude for lifesaving care. “I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Southwest (Memorial) Hospital,” one donor told her after surviving a heart attack. She added that the foundation also seeks grants and has received significant support from organizations such as the LOR Foundation, the Berger Foundation and the Ballantine family, as well as other local groups that value having a hospital in Cortez.
The foundation’s equipment fundraising goal was $260,000 this year, which funded several priority items identified by a hospital committee.
Purchases included an Emergency Department ultrasound machine, a new pulmonary function testing unit replacing a 30-year-old model, a jaundice meter for newborn clinic visits, ambulance repairs and another operating room device.
The foundation also has a cancer fund, which Koller said has distributed $137,000 to Montezuma and Dolores county residents with cancer since 2014.
“We raise money for equipment, and we also raise money for cancer grants,” Becker said. “The cancer grants are the ones that directly go into the community.”
These grants, up to $1,000, can be used for whatever the recipient needs, commonly for travel to cancer treatment appointments in Durango, Grand Junction or Denver, lodging, child care and more.
Koller said the cancer fund offers quick help for patients who need treatment outside the hospital, as long as a physician verifies the need. “One of the reasons why it's so important here is because our small rural hospital system doesn't have great resources for cancer care,” Koller said. She added that without outside treatment options, patients can overwhelm local facilities that aren’t equipped for complex cases — a key reason the fund was created and remains essential.
Funds will be divided evenly among qualified applicants who apply by early June each year, starting in 2026.
The foundation board has nine members and one vacancy, according to SHS’s website. Current members are:
- President Karla Demby, retired physician.
- Vice President Joseph Theine, SHS chief executive officer.
- Treasurer Austan Koller.
- Secretary Jaycee Hart, SHS marketing specialist.
- Members Molly Greenlee, speech-language pathologist; Trent Woods, emergency preparedness and response manager in public health; Jeanne Becker, former fundraising and event manager for Crow Canyon Archeological Center.
- Representative: Bob Ower, Montezuma County Hospital District, auto shop owner;
- Mary Dodd, SHS board, former early childhood professional.
To meet fundraising goals, the foundation sends three appeal mailings per year, applies for grants and more. The foundation will also participate in Colorado Gives Day, scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 16.
SHS has a wish list of equipment it is fundraising for, and donations can be made on Colorado Gives Day or anytime during the year.
The foundation’s wish list and annual goals can be found online at https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/SouthwestMemorialHospitalFoundation.
More information about the foundation and its board is available on the hospital’s website at https://www.swhealth.org/southwest-memorial-hospital-foundation/.
