Team Member Giving

Each year, contributions of all amounts, from thousands of individuals – including our own Team Members – support the Tahoe Forest Health System. Individually, each of us play a vital role in keeping our organization thriving. By participating in the Team Member Giving Program, employees have the ability to work together to pledge our support for those who depend on us – our patients, their families, our loved ones, and our treasured peers.

With meaningful donations from TFHS team members, the Foundations are able to make a significant difference in the lives of our community members. There is no dollar fundraising goal, just a challenge to participate. What you give is up to you, and 100% of every dollar supports the causes YOU choose!

We know that giving is personal. This campaign allows you to direct your donation to a fund you find meaningful. Every gift matters, regardless of the dollar amount. With giving options such as the Annalise King Hall Fund, the Cancer Center’s Oncology Support Programs, Emergency Services, Home Health/Hospice, and the Employee Assistance Fund – just to highlight a few – you have the ability to let your heart dictate your designation.

Your opinion matters! Team Member Giving donors help make the important decisions regarding TFHS funding opportunities. Our Team Member Giving Working Group, the collective voice of those who participate in the program, work in conjunction with our TFHS Administrative Council to help decide how to best utilize our Team Member Giving general funds! If you are interested in becoming a member of our Working Group, we would love your input! Please reach out to Wendy Lenz at [email protected] for more information.

With the generous contributions received from our employee donors in 2019, in addition to those earned this far in 2020, our Working Group had the privilege of financially supporting two exciting initiatives:

Our Team Member Giving donors proudly committed to purchasing 13 additional PAPR’s, or Powered Air Purifying Respirators, for our health system’s clinicians. PAPR’s are battery operated face coverings that use a blower to pass contaminated air through a HEPA filter, supplying purified oxygen directly into the face piece. Thank you, Team Member Giving donors, for playing a pivotal role in keeping both our staff members and patients safe!

Members of the Team Member Giving Program are privileged to have supported the purchase of 10 iPads, pre-formatted with a depression screening tool, for our Primary Care Providers. A patient’s input is transmitted in a secure, confidential manner that directly communicates with EPIC, our electronic medical records system. Based on the results of these screenings – and in the event that additional behavioral health services may be needed – primary care physicians can then offer appropriate supportive services, resources, and/or referrals.

The healing power of kindness is present in every gift. The Foundations are grateful for the extraordinary thoughtfulness so many of our team members have shared with our Health System. The Team Member Giving Program gives us a shared opportunity to continue supporting groundbreaking, life-saving initiatives that are important to all of us – community members, employees, and loved ones!

At the end of the day, we all want to help guarantee that our loved ones and community members have ongoing access to high-quality health care. When team members give, it sends a powerful message to the public that those who work here take pride in – and are committed to – the incredible daily accomplishments at TFHS.

Join us in reaching 100% employee participation! There are three ways to enroll – complete an online giving form, visit our Intranet site to submit an electronic form, or complete and return the Team Member Giving form to Wendy Lenz at [email protected].

Learn more about some of the exciting Team Member Giving activities we host throughout the year!

Cheers for Peers: Cheers for Peers is a sweet, simple way to recognize good things and great people. The Foundation loves to help celebrate meaningful accomplishments, special milestones, valued friendships, uplifting words, and those ‘just because’ moments. Let us help you by sharing a spot of cheer with your peers! Send your co-workers a personalized ‘hip, hip, hooray!”

Coffee for Kindness: The Foundations, in partnership with Drink Coffee Do Stuff, love to celebrate the TFHS employees with random, pop-up Coffee for Kindness bars throughout the health system! Once COVID restrictions ease, we will look forward to enjoying a complimentary cup of dark roast coffee with you at our next Coffee for Kindness event!

Gratitude Grams: Four times a year, the Foundations help TFHS Team Members express their appreciation for one another by delivering Gratitude Grams! Small gifts with hand-written notes can be ordered online in advance. To the delight of Foundation Staff, we will personally package and deliver your grams to your recipients. We can’t think of a better way to make a peer’s day than by sending them a small token of your appreciation! Keep an eye out for our next Gratitude Gram announcement – you won’t want to miss it!

Trivia Tuesday: On the fourth Tuesday of each month, join us for our virtual Trivia Tuesday! It’s really easy and so much fun! If you are a participating Team Member Giving Donor, you can expect a Team Member Giving trivia question in your inbox the morning of each fourth Tuesday. Answer correctly and be entered to win either a TFHS Yeti Tumbler or a TFHS Big Truck Hat! Now who doesn’t want either of those?

Virtual 5k: Twice yearly, the Foundations host a Team Member Giving Virtual 5k. This independent activity benefits the health system’s Employee Assistance Fund – a program fully funded through team member gifts, from one another, for one another. Join us for our next Virtual 5k by registering online to run, bike, walk, hike, or skip 3.12 miles! Then just print your customized racing bib and head out for a fun adventure in the great Sierra outdoors! Keep an eye on your inbox for an announcement about our next virtual race!

Lorna Tirman, Quality and Regulations, Patient Experience Specialist –
“I love working at Tahoe Forest Health System. I believe we are all very lucky to work with great employees and deliver amazing health care to our community. We are so fortunate to have our emergency room, and all of our other services, when we need them for friends and family. I enjoy giving back to a health system that takes such great care of us. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to give back!”

Ashley Davis, Nursing Administration, Clinical Practice Coordinator –
“I started participating in the Team Member Giving program after I witnessed first-hand the impact it has had on our staff and on patient care. The Foundation is able to help purchase much needed equipment for clinical areas that directly affect patient outcomes (for example: patient monitoring systems, education supplies for nurses, 3D mammography, etc.). I realized that by donating from each paycheck, I would be able to help improve day-to-day workflow for our nurses and other clinical team members, and ultimately those small donations could help save a life someday. I donate because it feels good to give back to organization that helps so many people in our community.”

Anonymous –
“I give to the Employee Assistance Fund because my fellow team members are what make Tahoe Forest such a great place to work. We aren’t just coworkers. We are neighbors, friends, and sometimes even family. We are all part of the same team, and it’s important that we take care of each other, because we never know what someone might be going through. We all fall on hard times now and then, and having an option for financial help during these times can really make a difference.”