SwedishAmerican concludes celebration of centennial year with June 4-8 festivities

Online Staff Report

SwedishAmerican Hospital was founded June 6, 1911. The hospital is concluding the celebration of its 100th anniversary with a week-long celebration.

Monday, June 4, SwedishAmerican will break ground on its new free-standing outpatient cancer center, which is being constructed in collaboration with UW Health and its nationally recognized University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. The center will be on a 30-acre site on North Bell School Road in Rockford, in close proximity to I-90 and the Riverside exit.

Tuesday, June 5, SwedishAmerican’s Holistic Health Department will recognize the completion of Walking Into The Next Century, an employee walking program. A trophy, prizes, and free samples and coupons for Red Mango will be distributed at a special ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a tent near Camelot Tower on East State Street. More than 150 teams have participated in the walking program.

The hospital will hold its annual Founder’s Day picnic and Neighborhood Festival Wednesday, June 6. The picnic, for employees and volunteers, will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in a large tent east of Camelot Tower. The festival, with free rides and refreshments, will be from 3 to 7 p.m. at Beattie Playground. The festival, open to all neighborhood families, as well as SwedishAmerican employees and their families, is a celebration of SwedishAmerican’s heritage and commitment to central Rockford.

Thursday, June 7, will be “Show Your Colors Day.” All employees are encouraged to wear SwedishAmerican purple.

Friday, June 8, will conclude the week with the health system’s Give Back to the Community Day, featuring a Duck Derby at 11 a.m. Dr. Bill Gorski, president and CEO for SwedishAmerican, will go wading in the fountain (blindfolded and wearing waders) at the State Street entrance to the hospital. His task will be to choose 12 ducks that have been adopted. Dr. Gorski will select a number of ducks for a variety of prizes. The proceeds raised will go toward Patriot’s Gateway and SwedishAmerican’s Employee Disaster Fund. The foundation will match all ducks sold. There is the potential for each charity to receive $1,300.

SwedishAmerican Health System

SwedishAmerican is a not-for-profit, locally-governed health care system, with headquarters in Rockford. The health system is composed of two hospitals, 30 clinics, a home health care agency, a foundation, and has an exclusive affiliation with UW Health in northern Illinois.

Posted June 1, 2012