Courtesy Photo Gary Dawley, manager/treasurer/trustee of Besser Foundation, presents a check for $100,000 to Ann Diamond, fund development director, MyMichigan Health Foundation, and Mike Erickson, president, MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena.

ALPENA — Besser Foundation has made many significant donations to MyMichigan Health throughout the years. They were a major donor to the 1996 Capital Campaign, and they were a lead gift in the Emergency Department renovation.

Most recently, in 2020, they committed to a $300,000 matching gift pledge for the MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena Patient Tower project. The commitment was $100,000 annually for three years. Gary Dawley, manager/treasurer/trustee of Besser Foundation, recently visited the Medical Center to complete their commitment.

According to Dawley, this gift represents the ongoing commitment of the Foundation to Alpena and reinforces the importance of MyMichigan Health and ensuring quality health care is available to the community.

“In order for a community to survive, it needs good health care, good arts and culture, and good education,” said Dawley.

Besser Foundation had generously donated throughout the community to help ensure all three are offered in Alpena. The $300,000 donation was a matching gift to encourage others to contribute to their local medical center, which was matched above and beyond by business and individuals in northern Michigan.

“The Alpena community wouldn’t be where it is today without Besser Foundation,” said Ann Diamond, fund development director, MyMichigan Health Foundation. “They have been extremely generous with many of the area nonprofit organizations and instrumental in the ongoing growth of our Medical Center. We are very proud to be a partner with Besser Foundation and certainly recognize the great work they have done with the MyMichigan and our community.”

“We are proud to have the continued support of Besser Foundation,” said Mike Erickson, president, MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena. “The patient tower is state-of-the-art; I’ve been in a lot of hospitals around the country, and you can rest assured the new equipment at MyMichigan Health is as good as it gets. This is made possible in part by Besser Foundation and our generous community members.”

The patient tower at MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena opened in April, and patients are now experiencing the private patient rooms, the new Women’s Health Unit, spacious intermediate and critical care rooms, and state-of-the-art operating rooms in the Surgical Services Unit, which includes private pre- and post-operative rooms.

“It is a beautiful facility matched with advanced technology and a calm and comfortable atmosphere for patients and their families,” Dawley said. “Besser Foundation is proud to support this project.”

For more information about the MyMichigan Health Foundation, contact Diamond at 989-356-7738 or ann.diamond@mymichigan.org.