January 12, 2016
West Columbia, S.C.– The Lexington Medical Center Foundation received a $50,000 gift Tuesday from an Irmo man who wanted to recognize the hospital and its staff members for the outstanding care they provided to his wife. This significant donation will establish a fund called “Linda’s Love” that will help patients in need receive specialized medical care.
Jeffrey Angstadt presented the gift to the Lexington Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors today in honor of his wife Linda, who died in 2014. Linda had received extensive treatment at Lexington Medical Center for cancer, congestive heart failure and complications from the flu, totaling more than 100 days in the hospital.
“During that time, I learned the impact that other people can have on a life,” Mr. Angstadt said. “For me, those people are the doctors, nurses and staff at Lexington Medical Center. The medical care was perfect, but it went far beyond that. The compassion, support and love that was shared with my children and me was life sustaining.”
Since then, Mr. Angstadt worked to support Lexington Medical Center and its Foundation. He began volunteering in the hospital’s Emergency department. He also became a member of the Lexington Medical Center Foundation’s Heritage Society; a group whose members bequeath planned gifts from their estates to help fulfill the mission of the Foundation in our community in the future. And, he honored the clinicians who cared for his wife in the hospital’s Medical Intensive Care Unit through the Foundation’s Grateful Patient program, recognizing the 32 staff members who showed compassion to him and his wife during her illness with a wall plaque there.
And now, Mr. Angstadt hopes his generous donation will help patients in need to receive treatment for underlying conditions, encourage preventative care, and achieve long-term health and well being.
“The Lexington Medical Center Foundation is tremendouslygrateful for the kindness, generosity, and vision of Jeffrey Angstadt and his children as they honor the legacy of his wife and their mother,” said Barbara Willm, Vice President of Development and Community Relations at Lexington Medical Center. “Through the generosity of this family, we will be able to provide expanded access to care for our most vulnerable patients.”
The Lexington Medical Center Foundation works to provide programs and services that enhance the health and well being of hospital patients, family members and the community.
Programs include assistance for patients battling cancer, scholarships to encourage students to further their education in health care, tools that help families to cope with difficult times, wellness workouts for cardiac rehabilitation patients, a program that provides transitional care to patients returning home from a hospital stay, and a pastoral care fund that helps provide resources to assist families in the grieving and healing process.
The Angstadts were married for 35 years. They had two children and three grandchildren.
“Through everything that’s happened, I’ve come to realize that I’m part of something great at Lexington Medical Center. It’s a great hospital – my involvement with the Foundation has given me a glimpse of just how great,” Mr. Angstadt said. “I am and will be involved in every way possible to help others and honor Linda. The Foundation is helping me do that.”
To learn more about how to contribute to the Linda’s Love fund, visit LMCFoundation.com.
Lexington Medical Center is a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. It anchors a health care network that includes five community medical centers and employs a staff of more than 8,000 health care professionals. The hospital is ranked best hospital in the Columbia Metro and #2 hospital in South Carolina by U.S. News & World Report and was named one of the “Best Places to Work in South Carolina” by SC Biz News, in partnership with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Best Companies Group. Lexington Medical Cancer Center is an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence and has a clinical research and education affiliation with MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. The network includes a cardiovascular program recognized by the American College of Cardiology as South Carolina's first HeartCARE Center. The network also has an occupational health center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, an Alzheimer's care center and more than 70 physician practices. Lexington Medical Center operates one of the busiest Emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 100,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers more than 4,000 babies each year and performs more than 25,000 surgeries. Its postgraduate medical education programs include family medicine and transitional year residencies.
