Partners of Wisconsin Hospital Association, Inc. (Partners) is a non-profit, volunteer service organization affiliated with Wisconsin Hospital Association. Founded in 1951 as Wisconsin Hospital Association Auxiliaries, Partners now boasts more than 60 member hospital partner groups and almost 8,500 members across the state. Partners will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2021.
In 1951, the WHA Board of Trustees appointed a committee of three women to study the need for a Wisconsin Hospital Association Auxiliaries Association (WHAA). During the year, questionnaires were sent to all hospitals to ascertain the number of existing auxiliaries, the various projects and programs involving volunteers and which hospitals were considering starting such organizations. There were 81 replies. Of these, 43 auxiliaries reported programs and volunteer services. There were 16 requests for assistance, either in organizing or with some particular project.
In 1953, hospital association membership for auxiliaries became a reality, with membership limited to those auxiliaries whose hospitals qualified for membership in the state group (WHA).
In 1954, the Board of Trustees of WHA voted to accept WHAA as a committee within the framework of the WHA – a concept that would lay the foundation for the WHA/WHAA relationship that exists today.
In 1962, a Constitution and Bylaws for WHAA were compiled and voted into existence. Local auxiliaries began to actively promote health careers and sought aid and expertise from the parent organization -WHA. During the years to follow, WHAA became interested in legislative issues concerning the health care industry and urged local auxiliaries to adopt the study of these issues as an integral part of ongoing programming. WHAA encouraged local auxiliaries to establish scholarships for students pursuing a career in health care.
The year 1972 was marked by the development of the first leadership manual. Over the years, WHAA has grown and developed into a strong service organization and maintains an active liaison with WHA with which it shares common goals.
In 1983, the membership of WHAA voted to become a non-profit corporation to be subsequently referred to as the Wisconsin Hospital Association Auxiliaries, Incorporated (WHAAI).
In March 1996, in an effort to reflect the ever-changing, broad-based needs of statewide health care providers, name changes for the organizations occurred. WHA became the Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association. In 2002, the name was changed back to WHA. In 2003, Wisconsin Hospital Association Auxiliaries, Inc. changed its name to Partners of Wisconsin Hospital Association, Inc. (Partners of WHA, Inc.) which remains the name to this day.
Since 1993 Partners of WHA have instituted three awards:
- In 1993, the Honor Points Award was first presented. This award is presented each year at the annual convention to organizations that fulfill specific requirements.
- In 1994, the Best of the Best Award was begun. This award is presented each year to an onsite administrator who has demonstrated exemplary support of the local Partners volunteers in their facility. See Best of the Best Award winners here.
- In 2003, the WAVE awards (Wisconsin Award for Volunteer Excellence) were presented for the first time. There are four categories: Community Service, Fundraising, In-Service, and Community Outreach and/or Collaboration. See WAVE winners here.
As of 2019, Partners reported 894,105 volunteer hours in Wisconsin hospitals. They awarded 339 scholarships valued at $371,125. The total amount given from fundraising was $1,706,171 – in just one year! Importantly, in 2019 Partners members logged 1,090 contacts with legislators. Many of those were through WHA’s
Hospitals Education & Advocacy Team (HEAT) program. Partners members are also a large presence at WHA’s Advocacy Day each year.
See Partners website here.
See the Partners of WHA brochure here.
Reflections from Jean Doty, former DVS, Marshfield Medical Center; former President, Association for Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals
I was the volunteer director at Saint Joseph’s Hospital (Now Marshfield Medical Center) for more than 17 years. I had the pleasure of being a member of, and an advocate for, Partners with Saint Joseph’s Hospital (formerly St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary). From the beginning I was totally impressed with this volunteer organization. Not only did these men and women volunteer at the hospital, they had an active board of directors who actively supported legislative issues as they affected the health care industry, they promoted distributed health education information to their members AND they raised thousands of dollars to donate to various hospital projects. This group of volunteers was very dedicated and truly believed in the mission of the organization. In my role as director, I often said that our volunteer office was staffed with two paid employees, but we were 500+ strong when we counted the volunteers and Partners members who supported the hospital with thousands of hours donated annually!
I had the pleasure of attending many board meetings of Partners of Wisconsin Hospital Association, the state organization, when I served as President of the Association of Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals. Their board was very hard-working and put in many, many hours and was so diligent in carrying out their mission. They most certainly did and still do “walk the talk”!
All Partner organizations play an inherently valuable and integral role in the success of hundreds of hospitals throughout the state.
(See Jean Doty's essay from the 2007 Wisconsin Health Care Employee Pride Program here.)