By John Burton
RED BANK – Former and current Monmouth County residents and professionals in the health care sector are stepping up to offer their expertise to other health care fundraisers.
The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy has elected Bridget Murphy, chief philanthropy officer for Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, to its board of directors and has selected member David L. Flood as its president.
Flood is a former Monmouth Beach resident who had been president of the New Jersey-based Meridian Health Affiliated Foundation. The Meridian Health system counts hospitals Red Bank’s Riverview Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, and Bayshore Hospital, Holmdel, and Community Medical Center, Toms River, as those it owns and operates. In addition, Meridian operates rehabilitation centers and long term care facilities.
Flood is currently serving as vice president and chief development officer for Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, according to information provided by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP).
Murphy, who lives in Wall, has worked for four years as chief philanthropy officer for Visiting Nurse Association, in Red Bank, which includes the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey (VNACJ) and has more than 20 years experience in fundraising and nonprofit management consulting, largely for hospital and health care organizations, according to AHP.
VNA Health Group is the largest visiting nurse association in New Jersey and the second largest in the U.S.
AHP, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., was established in 1967, has 5,000 members in the United States and Canada and “focuses on standards, knowledge and advocacy in health care,” said AHP spokesman Kathy Renzetti.
The association works on improving the training and skills of fundraising professionals working in the nonprofit health care field. “The value is that members can take advantage of learning best practices and standards,” sharpening their skills in a competitive and increasingly specialized sector, this week said Murphy, who has been an AHP member since 1996.
The association’s members represent more than 2,200 health care organizations in North America who raise more than $10 billion each year for community health care services.
Murphy would be the only member of the board to come from a home health care/hospice service organization, Renzetti believed. With her appointment, “I think it really elevates the growing importance of home health care/hospice organizations,” Murphy felt. And as a New Jerseyan, “It is an opportunity to represent the state of New Jersey, which is a real health care force nationally,” she added.
“Bridget is respected by her peers and brings a high level of energy and enthusiasm to each challenge she takes on,” said Steven Churchill, AHP’s chief financial officer.
Murphy was selected by a ballots cast by AHP members and with her and Flood’s election, the board now has seven members out of a possible total of 10, Churchill said.
The position is a volunteer one and Murphy will continue with VNA Health Group, she said.
