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Centegra
HealthSystem
5
To learn more about Centegra Health System, go to
centegra.org.
health
news
R
Touching
the past—
and the
future
RICHARD PERSINO, MD, wishes his
dad had lived to see him finish medical
school. But he remembers him every
time he passes the Tree of Life at
Centegra Hospital–McHenry.
“As a tribute to my father, I donated a
leaf in his name,” says Dr. Persino, an OB-
GYN on staff at Centegra Health System.
“Later, when my mom passed away, I
added her name. Every time I walk past, I
polish the leaf and think of them.”
IN LOVING MEMORY
The Tree of Life at Centegra Hospital–
McHenry is filled with small bronze
plaques, shaped into individual leaves,
that draw the attention of many people
passing through the hospital. At Centegra
Hospital–Woodstock, a newly redesigned
Tree of Life graces a wall across from the
chapel.
Dr. Persino also purchased a memorial
brick in memory of his father. These
elegant inscribed bricks are part of a patio
in the garden at the Centegra Sage Cancer
Center. There are also memorial bricks in
the walkways leading to each hospital.
The Centegra Health System
Foundation, which works to build
financial support for new services,
state-of-the-art technology and other
important projects, administers these
memorials. They are a wonderful way
to recognize someone who has special
meaning in your life.
They could honor a family member or
someone else who made a difference to
you. For example, you may want to pay
tribute to a co-worker who is retiring or
a physician who has helped you or your
family.
Sometimes people join together to
reach the level of giving required to
inscribe a leaf or a brick.
As someone whose job it is to
help bring new life into the world,
Dr. Persino sees a lovely symmetry
in these memorials.
“We’re all on earth only for a short
time,” he says. “It’s good to make it a
little better while we’re here.”
MORE THAN WORDS
Your memorial or appreciation gifts go
beyond honoring one person. The funds
keep giving by enhancing medical care in
the entire community. Donations to the
Centegra Health System Foundation have
made possible projects such as:
● ●
The Centegra Gavers Breast Center
● ●
The da Vinci surgical robot
● ●
Digital mammography
● ●
A Patient Express van
● ●
Electrocardiogram (EKG) transmitters
in emergency vehicles
You can designate your gift to go to a
specific department or program, or you can
allow Centegra’s leadership to direct it to
the most important or innovative projects.
However you give, your donation
helps ensure that you and your neighbors
can receive the highest-quality medical
care right in McHenry County.
“We all need healthcare at some
point,” Dr. Persino says. “It’s good to
know that the community really cares
and supports the hospitals.”
THE SPIRIT OF CARING
There are leaves waiting for names
on the Tree of Life at both facilities and
blank bricks in the hospital walkways
and in the patio at the Centegra Sage
Cancer Center. If you fill one, you’ll
join Dr. Persino and others who have
permanent memorials to their loved ones.
There are also many ways
to honor people with
smaller gifts. Find out more
by
CALLING
the Centegra
Health System Foundation
at
815-788-5870
. You can
also
VISIT
centegra.org/
foundation.
Memorial giving at Centegra