Donor Stories
Generous donor support provides the opportunity for Silver Cross Hospital to make an important difference in the lives of so many people in our community. Donor support has provided state-of-the-art technology, new services, advancements in facilities, and continuing education for caregivers.
Learn more about some of our donors...
Tom & Michele Vana
Tom and Michele Vana understand the importance of having advanced healthcare close to home. The couple chose to bequest the Silver Cross Foundation a transformational gift to support Will County’s first and only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Silver Cross Hospital. The new NICU which opened in 2022 provides lifesaving care for premature newborns and full-term babies with congenital disorders.
In recognition of their generous support, Silver Cross named the Amy, Matthew and Jay Vana Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Silver Cross Hospital after the couple’s triplets.
This project was especially close to their hearts. The Vana’s want to make sure that other parents don’t have to experience what went through - the stress and anxiety of making the long trip back and forth to Chicago for months to be with their tiny, sick newborns every minute of every day for months. Tom and Michele’s investment ensures that their children, grandchildren and families throughout Will County and beyond will have access to the very best neonatal care nearby.
This is the Vana’s second significant gift to Silver Cross. In 2017, along with Tom’s mother Marilyn Kurtz, they supported in the enhancement of the hospital’s emergency services and paramedic-training program.
Tom and Michele’s close ties to Silver Cross date back more than three decades when they met in Silver Cross Hospital’s Emergency Department. Michele was working as a nurse and Tom as a paramedic for his family’s business – Kurtz Ambulance Service.
After trying to start a family for several years, the couple was overjoyed to learn they were expecting triplets. At the same time, they were anxious as this was considered a high-risk pregnancy and delivery required a level of care not available at any nearby hospitals. After 29 weeks, Michele went into premature labor delivering Amy, Jay, and Matthew on Oct. 10, 1995. Each weighed less than two pounds and required months of intensive care.
“It was very difficult as our babies didn’t all come home at the same time.” said Michele. “Tom would come relieve me after working a 24-hour shift so I could go home to take care of Amy and Jay who both needed extra care. After eight weeks, I went back to work in the ER. We were exhausted traveling back and forth downtown, but weren’t going to leave our tiny, helpless babies. They were and are our world.”
“This is our way of saying thank you to Silver Cross for all the support and friendship they have shown our family over the years,” added Tom.
Video: Thomas J. and Michele Vana – 2022 Silver Cross Sangmeister Medal of Excellence Recipients
Frank Fagan
“Janet loved being a nurse and enjoyed spending time with patients,” Frank Fagan recalls about his wife, who passed away from cancer in 2003. Together, with his sons, the retired teacher created a memorial scholarship to honor Janet and the work she did as a nurse at Silver Cross Hospital for 37 years.
Each year the Janet Fagan Nursing Scholarship is awarded to two or more employees enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate level registered nursing program to help further their education and training in this ever-changing world of healthcare.
Katie Lowe was the first recipient of the scholarship.
“It is encouraging to know there is someone like Frank – not an anonymous donor – helping me, especially on the hard days,” Katie shared after meeting Frank during the annual luncheon when she was awarded the scholarship. “I want to make sure to put his money to good use.”
Katie used her scholarship to earn a Master of Science degree in Nursing Education. She began her career at Silver Cross as an Intensive Care Nurse in 2013. In 2019, she joined the Nursing education team as a clinical educator for the inpatient nursing and surgical staff. Since then, she was promoted to manager of the Interventional Labs and Cardiac Diagnostics in the Procedural Care Unit.
Frank funds the scholarships through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from his retirement account. He likes that the funds are given out in full each year and not held in an endowment.
When asked, “What do you think Janet would think about your generosity?” Frank laughed and said, “She’d probably say I should give more.”
