Week 9

This week was very productive in terms of setting up interviews.  I set up three interviews, and was able to acquire contact information for most of the remaining individuals I had originally planned on interviewing.  I also had an impromptu phone interview with one of the other board members on Friday.

The board member that I spoke with on Friday was not an original board member, but has been with the foundation for nearly 20 years, so had a good outlook on how the foundation has evolved.  He discussed several important projects that the foundation has funded that have been especially significant.  The project that was most interesting to me was an emergency room study that was conducted.  This study resulted in changes made in ER wait times and efficiency not only in Chicago, but throughout the country.  In addition, he discussed a recent food pantry initiative funded by Washington Square.  This project is significant because it is the first time the foundation has funded a food bank, indicating a broadening of funding areas in public health.

Below is an older photograph of some of the past and present members of the Board of Directors of Washington Square:

I'm looking forward to the next few interviews, and hoping that they will help me develop a more complete understanding of certain aspects of the foundation's history.

Week 8

This past week, I continued to work on the interviewing part of the project.  However, I ran into some difficulties as far as contacting certain individuals.  The next person I had planned on interviewing was one of the original board members of the foundation, but resigned in the 1980s.  However, he played a crucial role in some of legal details and planning of the future of the foundation.

While the last person I interviewed is a current foundation board member, and therefore relatively easy to contact, the next person I am hoping to interview did not have current contact information in the office.  The last contact information we had for this individual was from when he was a board member, and also ran a retail consulting firm in Chicago.  I tried contacting this firm, but found that he was no longer employeed there.  After doing a google search, I was able to find an Evanstons address for someone of the same name.  While I had emailed the first person to set up an interview, it looks like I will have to rely on snail mail for this one, since I wasn't able to find a phone number, email, or any other information.

I'm hoping that I will be able to get in contact with this person, and I hope it will be easier to track down the rest of the individuals that I interview!

Week 7

After going home to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a few days for spring break, I came back to Chicago on Wednesday and spent some time working on the history project.  This week, I conducted my first interview with a board member of the foundation.  The board member that I interviewed was originally on the board of directors at Henrotin Hospital, and has been with the foundation the longest.

I started the interview with asking him about the sale and closure of the hospital, and his reaction to these events.  He emphasized his and the board's disappointment upon hearing about the plans to close the hospital.  At the time of the sale of the hospital, Northwestern Memorial Group had led the board of Henrotin to believe that they would keep the hospital open for much longer than they did, so their decision to close the hospital was shocking to the board members.  Their main concern was that the 400-600 hospital employees would lose their jobs, although some of these employees ended up being incorporated into Northwestern's Hospital system.

He also discussed some of the foundation's initial planning, and the thought process that went into developing the foundation's mission statement.  He said that although the board members of the foundation largely agreed that the acquired funds should be used to promote access to healthcare, there was a level of uncertainty on how to implement these funds.

Interviewing a board member was interesting because I was able to hear how the events early in the foundation's history unfolded from another perspective.  It also gave me better ideas about what to ask the next individuals that I'll be interviewing, and helped me to add more specific information to the written part of the project.

Week 6

This week's focus was beginning to coordinate the interview portion of the project.  Several weeks ago, I made a list of individuals that my boss suggested would be good people to interview to learn more about the foundation's history.  This week, we decided on the first group of people to be contacted to set up an interview.  All four of the first group to be selected are individuals who played an important role in the beginning of the foundation-- the selling of Henrotin Hospital to Northwestern Memorial Group, the closing of the hospital, the conversion of the foundation from public to private, etc.

The first person I contacted this week was on the board of Henrotin Hospital before it was sold, and is currently the foundation's longest-standing board member.  We have a phone interview set up for next week, so I have been thinking of questions to ask him.  Having never interviewed anyone before, and never met one of the foundation's board members before, I'm a little nervous.  Most of my questions are focused on the first few years of the foundation, because he is the only board member who witnessed the creation of the foundation first-hand.  While I have read some of the minutes for the earliest foundation board meetings, I am hoping he can help clarify and give his own view of the process of decision making that went into starting the foundation.

The other individuals that I plan on contacting soon for an interview include two people who worked for Northwestern Memorial Group and were involved in the purchase of the hospital, and one of the original board members of the foundation who was involved in some of the legal details of the creation of the foundation, but has since resigned. 

I'm looking forward to finally starting the interview process, and hoping it goes well!