ON THE RADAR
He leads Lee Memorial’s funding campaign, his father’s son, learning from doctors
Meet Skip Leonard
Skip Leonard wanted to better know his business, which then was (and still is) health care. His job as an executive with a New England hospital was to find the donors who write checks for new buildings and equipment. Most hospitals have an outreach executive, or a foundation officer, who builds funding relationships with groups and individuals. In his current capacity with Lee Memorial Health System, for instance, Leonard raises millions for vital things such as the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida that opens in 2017. But in New England, Leonard wanted to see how the dollars were spent.
So a few days later he observed a doctor perform surgery on a man’s damaged brain. He was astonished by the calm professionalism of the surgical team, with a man’s life at stake, he says. It reinforced his role in the process, Leonard says. “It taught me why I got into what I do,” he says, “all the emotional issues that come with it.”
Leonard today is the chief foundation officer for Lee Memorial Health System, soon to be Lee Health. He is tasked with raising $30 million in annual donations, “to support the health of our community,” he says, adding that Southwest Florida will be a final move, his wife and their two children joining him in August. “We love the area,” he says. “It’s a very special place.”
Leonard has an office in Fort Myers, but he’s mostly on the road, soliciting, networking and affirming relationships. He seems built for his trade; his father was a respected political fundraiser in Rhode Island. Leonard has a graduate degree from Harvard and has always gravitated to administration, he says. He moves mostly among those who have, can and will generously support Lee Memorial. According to Leonard, “Lee Memorial Health System is more than just a wonderful children’s hospital. Our outstanding clinical programs in cancer, cardiovascular/thoracic, health and wellness—to name a few—are what make LMHS and the people who work in it, such an incredible organization that strives every day to keep our community healthy.”
Lee Memorial Health System started in 1916 as the Lee County Hospital. It was a 10-bed, wooden building funded with $300, donated. Today there are four hospitals, some 1,500 beds and nearly a million people each year cycling through its services. The provider also accounts for 10,500 workers, 4,000 volunteers.
Significant philanthropic investment is needed to run Lee Memorial, Leonard says, including what’s needed to open the children’s hospital. It is named after Tom Golisano, the Rochester, New York, and Naples businessman/philanthropist who made a significant philanthropic investment to support children’s health care in Southwest Florida.
A sizable chunk for the Golisano Hospital came from the nonprofit SanCap Cares. The islands’ group has raised $13 million for the hospital and equipment. A SanCap
“We love the area. It’s a very special place.” —Skip Leonard, chief foundation officer Lee Memorial Health System