Change Leaders
When Ruth Schwarzkopf completed her nine-year term as a Palm Health Foundation (PHF) trustee in December 2023, she left a legacy that began not in the boardroom, but a ballroom. About a decade before she joined the board, Ruth attended the foundation’s inaugural Nursing Celebration at The Breakers Palm Beach. She was a hospital nursing director at the time and had never seen any significant acknowledgement of nurses anywhere. “To have somebody say nursing is a special and unique profession and recognize the dedication and the hard work we do every day was amazing to me,” Ruth said. She was hooked. Ruth advanced as a nursing leader within Tenet Health while at the same time becoming one of the foundation’s most dedicated volunteers. In the years prior to joining the board, she took on numerous committee and advocacy roles to support the foundation’s work to strengthen the nursing profession and improve the quality of healthcare in Palm Beach County.
A conversation with Mark Elhilow, Palm Health Foundation Trustee
Palm Health Foundation Philanthropy Committee member and former board chair Denise Bober established The Sutton Kailey Nursing Advancement Fund to support quality nursing care in our community. This year, Denise and her family selected two passionate nurses to receive scholarships that will support their further education and skill development, ultimately leading to excellent care for local patients. Denise’s fund is named in honor of her twin granddaughters, Sutton and Kailey. The girls were born at 24 weeks, weighing only 1.2 lbs and 1.1 lbs. Kailey shined her presence on this earth for 24 hours. Baby Sutton remained brave and strong, surviving heart surgery and spending 111 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
There was a little extra sunshine radiating from Palm Beach Gardens on March 19 th as 18 women gathered to celebrate the birthday of Palm Health Foundation trustee Ilene Solomon Silber. Rather than a party honoring her milestone birthday, Ilene’s wish was to celebrate the spirit of gratitude among her special group of friends, some whom have known each other for over five decades. The invitation read, “Ilene’s Birthday Brunch—A Celebration of Friendship and Gratitude,” a theme that carried through the event. All contributed quotes, colorfully displayed as centerpieces, blooming with thoughts on what it means to give thanks. One by Amy Collette, author of The Gratitude Connection, perfectly captured the celebration’s atmosphere: “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness; it's the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” Barbara Pariente, one of the five birthday brunch hosts, noted that Ilene has always been a catalyst for gratitude, spreading her appreciation in a most meaningful way: by giving back. “I have known Ilene in so many capacities, from when she was head of Communities in Schools of Palm Beach County to launching Take Stock in Children,” Barbara said. “She was always a professional working in jobs that were about giving back. She wants to make our community better by making the most impact.”
A Palm Health Foundation/FAU Fellow travels an unpaved road on a journey alongside community to find solutions for complex needs. Written by Amanda Kopacz
As a certified nursing assistant at Delray Medical Center, Dalissa is practicing while she studies, providing the same level of care to her patients that she did to her grandmother. “Being passionate, understanding, and empathetic is a must when it comes to being a nurse,” she said, recounting the story of a deeply depressed double amputee patient she prayed with and listened to when no one else had the time. Dalissa is exactly the kind of scholar Debra Coffman Howe envisioned supporting through her scholarship fund: A nurse who aspires to bedside patient care and who believes as Dalissa does that “being a nurse is like having a superpower and enough knowledge to heal people and send them home to their families.” Dalissa sees Debra as having her own superpower. “You have to have a big heart to do this for other people and allow students like me to have an opportunity,” she said. “Her scholarship saved me. It was a miracle.”
The Koehn Family Fund at Palm Health Foundation
When Pahokee resident Josie Hernandez first became involved with Healthier Glades in 2018, the initiative’s program director at the time, Inger Harvey, knew she had the potential to become a community leader. Hernandez, an administrator at Pahokee High School, already had the passion and the vision for how she could bring the Hispanic community together in the Glades and advocate for their health and wellness through a shared cultural experience—soccer. “Soccer is a cultural experience that brings Hispanics together,” said Hernandez. “We felt that we needed a soccer field in the Glades for our Hispanic community, parents and kids to share our lives and our identity, something that is very important to our family-oriented culture.” A Pahokee soccer field had been on the table for many years, but never materialized. Realizing Hernandez had the passion to fight for it, but would benefit from advocacy training, Healthier Glades sponsored her to attend Community Organizing and Family Issues in Chicago. There, Hernandez learned to develop skills, confidence, and the power to be a catalyst for positive change.
The latest blog from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shares how Palm Beach County is approaching mental health by co-creating solutions with residents who have lived experience and designing new ways to foster engagement, empowerment, and balance. It’s one example of how our community is pursuing innovative ideas, bringing partners together to rally around a shared vision of health, and working at the forefront of advancing health, opportunity, and equity—all reasons why our county is nationally celebrated for creating a Culture of Health.
David Wisehaupt, Managing Director, Wisehaupt, Bray Asset Management / Hightower, was recently elected chair of Palm Health Foundation’s board of trustees . Dave has served on the board for seven years, giving of his time and resources to better the health of Palm Beach County residents. We caught up with Dave to ask him about his experience as a trustee and vision as our new leader. Q: How did you first get involved with Palm Health Foundation? A: It was a way of giving back and trying to help others. Philippe Jeck, former chair of the foundation, and I have been friends for over 35 years. He was moving into a leadership role and asked me to get to know about Palm Health Foundation. It was a step-by-step process. I was first asked to become a member of the finance committee, then the board of trustees. I eventually chaired the finance committee and now I chair the board of trustees. Q: What impact do you hope to make as chair? A: It has been tremendous that this foundation has grown over time to more than $90+ million in assets and has given more than $89 million to improve health outcomes in Palm Beach County. What I hope to do is help grow the foundation further, for the sake of those people we get to help now and in the future. There is always going to be more help needed tomorrow than is needed today. I’m a real believer in planting trees that we will never get to sit under and enjoy the shade. We need to plant those trees and grow the organization, and as we grow our assets, look for those signs that come along that tell us where and when to grow our reach.
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