Meet Our Donors
Linda Pons
Volunteering and Educating in Appreciation for World-Class Care
Linda Pons will be forever grateful to St. Francis Hospital for the surgery that saved her life; and St. Francis is equally grateful to Linda for her generosity—promised before she ever set foot in the Hospital as a patient.
Linda became acquainted with St. Francis several years ago when she volunteered to be a participant in a research study on coronary artery disease. She lost both of her parents to heart disease and felt a personal connection to the project.
Linda enjoyed the benefits of being a study participant, including a supervised exercise program at the cardiac fitness center at the Hospital’s DeMatteis Center for Cardiac Research and Education. Over time she realized how much she appreciated the personal care provided by the nurses and staff. To demonstrate her appreciation, she named St. Francis Hospital as a beneficiary in her will.
As a member of the Sr. Jean M. Pignone Legacy Society, Linda attended special events, lectures, and private tours where she was treated to a firsthand look at the newest initiatives taking place at the Hospital. During one of these tours of the new high-tech operating rooms, Linda shared her admiration of the space and her wish that she would never need to visit one as a patient.
Four months later, while exercising at the cardiac fitness center, Linda experienced symptoms of angina—symptoms she remembered well from her mother’s illness. After a series of tests, Linda’s cardiologist transferred her directly to the Hospital’s emergency department.
Linda underwent triple-bypass, open-heart surgery in the very same operating room that she had seen on her tour! Linda never expected that she would be experiencing the Hospital’s top-ranked medical care when she first informed us of her promise of a future legacy gift.
Linda recovered fully and is back at the cardiac fitness center. She has since shared her plans to increase her legacy gift so that others will continue to benefit from the world-class health care provided by the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff at St. Francis.