MDCMC Establishes Brighter Day Fund

Last month, Sturgeon Bay residents Pat and Bob Scieszinski discovered that Bob’s colleagues at Ministry Door County Medical Center honored them through the establishment of the Brighter Day Fund. This new fund was established through the Door County Medical Center Foundation to assist with the needs of daily living for those navigating mental illness.

Pat and Bob know firsthand the challenges of mental illness. “We are the parents of three wonderful young men,” says Bob, who recently retired as Chief Financial Officer of Ministry Door County Medical Center after 28 years of service. “Two of them have experienced mental health issues, and that experience led Pat and me to become advocates for mental health in our community.”

Bob serves as a board member at JAK’s Place, a resource and drop-in center for those affected by mental illness, as well as a member of the countywide Mental Health Focus Group. He and Pat know that those who live with mental illness not only need access to quality mental health care, but also struggle to obtain daily needs such as food, shelter and medication. The Brighter Day Fund will offer help to individuals and be administered through Ministry’s social workers and financial counselors.

“The community is making strides in the area of mental health,” says Bob. “Door County’s Human Services department is on the verge of hiring a new, much-needed psychiatrist for the county, and Ministry’s primary care doctors are on the front lines of caring for patients’ mental health needs.”

Donations to the Brighter Day Fund are currently being accepted, and proceeds from the Medical Center Foundation’s annual golf outing, to be held Aug 28, will provide a generous start to the fund as well. The fund is expected to begin awarding monies to individuals beginning Oct 1.

To make a donation to the Brighter Day Fund, contact Mike Herlache at the Door County Medical Center Foundation at 920.746.1071. For questions about receiving assistance from the fund, call Ministry social worker Katie Graf at 920.746.5566.