Photo Caption: (left to right) Tom McNair, Rena’ Mathews, philanthropy officer with Sutter Care at Home, and Melissa Cohea, executive director of philanthropy with Sutter Care at Home.
By Kathy Engle, Vitals contributor
For decades published research has shown that having a sense of purpose is critical for emotional well-being in retirement. Volunteering, mentoring, as well as physical exercise and maintaining social connections, have all been shown to deepen personal satisfaction in retirement and even boost a person’s health. That’s exactly what has driven Tom McNair after retiring from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2008. He kept in touch with a friend from his home state of Virginia, looking for ways to help the grieving friend, whose mother-in-law had recently died.
“I was moved by my friend’s experience finding support for his whole family from a local hospice program and his experience sparked my own passion supporting hospice and home care services in California,” McNair says.
Having relocated to Sacramento, Calif. in 1978 for a role overseeing crop forecasts and statistics, McNair was motivated to seek a worthy local hospice organization to support. He turned to Sutter Health.
“I am a Sutter patient, so one day I walked into a Sutter office and inquired about making my first gift to Sutter Care at Home,” he recalls. “The philanthropy team followed up with me immediately, and my connection with the organization grew from there.”
Serving communities in 27 counties across the Sutter Health system, Sutter Care at Home – Home Health provides visiting nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, medical social workers and other members of a multidisciplinary team to care for patients in their home. Some patients are returning home following hospitalization; others are managing chronic conditions. In 2023 alone, home health providers completed more than 686,000 visits.
Sutter Care at Home also delivers home-based hospice services to nearly 8,000 patients annually across the Sutter Health footprint. Hospice care provides highly personalized comfort care focusing on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients and their families. Bereavement services, available anywhere, regardless of where they receive their healthcare, are sustained through donor generosity.
For more information, visit: https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/home-health-hospice/home-health.
Since first connecting with Sutter Care at Home, McNair has deepened his involvement, joining its philanthropic committee in 2019. His involvement has truly supported his own emotional well-being in retirement while helping others along the way. His gifts have supported Sutter SeniorCare PACE shuttles providing vital transportation for Sutter SeniorCare participants to and from the program’s Adult Day Health Center, medical appointments and social outings. He has also contributed to AccuVein machines for Sutter clinicians and a Home Health Innovation pilot program, all of which have impacted thousands of patients each year.
“Any one of us could need home health or hospice services in our lives and serving on the philanthropy committee has been meaningful because I’m helping others and surrounded by a great community,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate in life, and it’s important to give back.”
“We’re incredibly grateful for community members like Tom, not only volunteering his time to serve on our philanthropic committee, but also supporting us with generous donations,” says Mark McPherson, Sutter Care at Home CEO. “Being included in his estate plan allows us to forecast well into the future as we expand to serve future generations.”
McNair’s generosity and optimism shines through as he reflects, “I want life to be the best it can be for those who turn to Sutter Care at Home, whether for temporary support or long-term care—this incredible organization is always there to help.”
