Froedtert Today

March 2004 Issue

Hope & Spirit

William D. Petasnick

President and CEO Froedtert Hospital

In this issue of Froedtert Today, I would like to introduce to you the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Hope and Spirit Awards — our way of recognizing the exceptional commitment and courage our patients’ exhibit.

Many patients come to us in hopes of finding treatment that will restore their health or improve their quality of life. Some of them are literally fighting for their lives — embattled against the most devastating of diseases or injuries, including cancer, neurological diseases, spinal cord injuries and other health complications.

We provide a place of hope for those patients, with the expertise only an academic medical center can offer. But, it is the patients themselves who provide the spirit. We have seen this again and again — in people who refuse to give up on life in spite of a deck stacked against them: people who walk again after sustaining trauma to the spine; people who create families after cancer; patients who manage the potentially devastating complications of diabetes every day.

The Hope and Spirit Awards are our way of celebrating extraordinary people — and we are looking for your help in doing so. If you know a current or former Froedtert & Medical College patient who has overcome a serious medical challenge and embodies the qualities of a true champion — passion, courage, determination — please let us know.

You may honor your champion by completing a nomination form with an essay and sending them to us by April 15. (See the enclosed brochure or visit froedtert.com for complete details.)

Caring for people as we do is an exhilarating experience. We feel it anew each day – incredible things DO happen — with more than a little Hope and Spirit.