May 25, 2005

TRUSTEE’S $5 MILLION GIFT LAUNCHES NEW MATERNITY CENTER

DENVILLE, NJ – May 25, 2005 – She came to America in 1955 form her native Germany speaking so little English that she had to ask her aunt to accompany her to her first job interview. But in the spirit of every “great American success story,” Kate M. Tiedemann, a member of Saint Clare’s Foundation’s board of trustees, today owns and operates the country’s largest, independently-owned company dedicated exclusively to ophthalmic surgical instrumentation, Katena Products, Inc.

In 1976, she was rushed to Saint Clare’s Hospital in Denville suffering from a ruptured appendix. She credits the physicians and nurses who took care of her with saving her life. She always knew she would thank Saint Clare’s in some way. On May 7, 2005, she announced a gift of $5 million to name Saint Clare’s new maternity center — The Katena Center for Mother and Child — in honor of her employees and the company she worked so hard to build. “The Saint Clare’s staff saved my life and that has always stuck in my mind,” she said during ceremonies unveiling the new, $11 million, 48,000 square feet center.

Her gift is equal to the largest ever given to New Jersey hospital by a living individual and helped to fund the state-of-the-art facility, which features 23 all-private mother/baby suites featuring hotel-like amenities, including in-room entertainment centers and high-speed internet access; a new, expanded Level 2 Special Care Nursery; a new Newborn Nursery; concierge service and many other features. At the grand opening event, Saint Clare’s literally “showered” more than 600 expectant parents and 700 other attendees from the community with gifts, prizes, food and refreshments as it officially named the new facility.

“We are eternally grateful to Kate Tiedemann for her incredibly generous and unprecedented gift,” said Joseph Vitale, chief executive officer of Saint Clare’s Foundation. “Kate’s inspiring generosity and the amazing turnout at our grand opening are testaments to the fact that The Katena Center for Mother and Child is a facility built for the community – and by the community.”

Including the naming gift, the Foundation has raised more than $8.5 million of the total $11 million cost of the center. Other major gifts include a $500,000 gift to name the new Newborn Nursery by Foundation trustees Bruce and Gale Bott in honor of their late grand niece.

One of the distinctive features of the new Katena Center is a unique donor area – the Baby Block Wall. For gifts of $1,000 or more to Saint Clare’s Foundation, new parents or their loved ones can share the joy of baby’s arrival with a solid wood, 4 inch-by-4-inch replica of a child’s “baby block,” which will sit on a hand-made bookshelf just outside the main entrance to the facility. Individually hand-made, the block (available in a choice of four colors) is personalized with the donor’s name as well as the name and birth date of the child, grandchild, niece or nephew. The blocks can also be inscribed in honor or in memory of a loved one.

“Participating in Saint Clare’s Baby Block program is a wonderful way to support vital services for families in our community,” said Kimberly A. Armenti, Saint Clare’s Director of Foundation and Marketing. “In addition, it provides a lasting tribute in honor or memory of your loved one.”

“I have always felt that we must give something back,” said Tiedemann. “No hospital today can survive or grow without additional support from the community.”

Saint Clare’s Foundation raises funds for the facilities, programs and services of Saint Clare’s Health System, which has served the healthcare needs of northwestern New Jersey residents since 1895. For more information on how you can help, call the Foundation at (973) 983-5300.

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