Daniel spearheads healthcare foundation

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Leslie Daniel, Director of Mountain Community Healthcare Foundation.

It's certainly not news that the beauty and tranquility of our Northeast Georgia Mountains have beckoned visitors and then enticed them to make this area home, creating tremendous growth in Union and Towns Counties. Nor is it news that growth in the area's healthcare has been a necessary and welcomed companion to this obvious change.

However, Mountain Community Healthcare Foundation, Inc. is news.

Mountain Community Healthcare Foundation has been formed by a group of visionary community leaders from both Union and Towns Counties. All are volunteers who have a passion for helping provide the best healthcare possible for the people of Northeast Georgia, according to Rebecca Dyer, Chief Administrator of Union General Hospital.

"This foundation has been created solely for the purpose of supporting and advancing the quality of healthcare available to everyone in Union and Towns Counties," said Elois Anderson, Foundation Board Chair from Towns County and President of the Bank of Hiawassee.

"The Board of Directors has been working for several months on all the details necessary to create a new foundation. Officers have been elected, by-laws have been written and adopted, the Foundation has been registered with the Secretary of State, and it has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) (3), not-for-profit organization," stated Mrs. Dyer.

Board members from Union County are Sheila Chapman, Rebecca Dyer, Patsy Efrid, Dr. George Gowder, Bob Head, and Andy Williams. Leon Davenport, former Administrator at Union General Hospital, is an honorary member of the Board.

Board members from Towns County are Elois Anderson, Carmolita Haney, Rick Martin, Ed Reynolds, Jeff Patterson, and H. D. Parris. Ex-Officio members of the Board are Mike Gowder of Union General Hospital and Lewis Kelley of Chatuge Regional Hospital.

Leslie Daniel is Foundation Director, and has served in this capacity from the onset of the organization.

"Her understanding of the healthcare system in the area, her background in business and marketing, and her strong personal relationships with so many people in both counties made her the natural choice to lead the Foundation," stated Mrs. Dyer.

Mrs. Daniel is well acquainted with both the area and healthcare in general. As a life-long resident, she grew up in Union County, the daughter of Wayne and Barbara Colwell, and graduated from Union County High School.

She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from North Georgia College and State University with a major in accounting, marketing and finance. After earning her degree, she worked for Woodrow J. Bergeron, CPA, and in 1991 began her career in the healthcare field at Fannin Regional Hospital.

In 1999 she began working at Union General Hospital, transferring in 2002 to Chatuge Regional Hospital, which is owned by Union General. She was selected to head the foundation in 2005 as it was just being formed, and as such remains an employee of Union General since the operating expenses of the foundation are underwritten by the Hospital.

"I am responsible for the administrative operations of the Foundation and am developing the essential components for the Foundation's first capital campaign, which will be announced in the near future," explained Mrs. Daniel.

"Our plan is to make our motto, It All Comes Back to You, the most familiar and meaningful phrase in our community," she said.

"People can expect to see it in all sorts of places and to hear it over and over again. But, we don't want people to just be familiar with it; we want them to respond to it. That's what our campaign - and the Foundation - is all about. When we give to the Foundation to help make healthcare services, facilities and programs better, our gift eventually does come back to us and our families," explained Mrs. Daniel.

In the coming months, everyone in both Union County and Towns County will have the opportunity to learn more about the mission and vision of Mountain Community Healthcare Foundation and how the participation of individuals, families, and businesses can help create an even better healthcare system for us all.

Mountain Community Healthcare Foundation is located at 135 Highway 515, Suite 2. The phone number is 706-745- 2050.