Dear friends,

May is a time of gratitude and reflection at HonorHealth, especially as we celebrate National Nurses Month. With your partnership, we are proud to honor the nurses who are the heart of our health system — professionals whose compassion, skill and unwavering commitment ensure exceptional care for every patient.

In this edition of Philanthropy in Action, you’ll read an extraordinary story of generosity coming full circle. Jeanne and Frank Hertz transformed personal gratitude into a powerful legacy through a $2 million commitment to HonorHealth’s Lung Nodule Program — already saving lives by detecting lung cancer earlier, when treatment is most effective.

You’ll also meet Bethany Biardi, a dedicated HonorHealth nurse whose professional growth was made possible through donor-supported education. Her story is a powerful reminder that investing in nurses strengthens teams, improves outcomes and elevates care across our system.

This month’s newsletter also highlights community-driven philanthropy, including Croquet for a Cure, and honors the enduring legacy of Dr. James Schamadan, a visionary leader whose influence continues to shape our mission.

Thank you for standing with us — and with our nurses, physicians and healthcare professionals — as we advance health, healing and hope throughout our community.

With gratitude,  

Jared A. Langkilde, MBA, CFRE
President & CEO

A full circle of compassion — and a legacy of earlier detection

Fourteen years ago, Chirag Patel, MD, was not yet a thoracic surgeon. He was a young father in medical residency, walking a path familiar to many HonorHealth patients — concerned, uncertain and searching for answers.

His infant daughter, Nala, had been diagnosed with plagiocephaly, a condition that causes a baby’s head to develop a flat or uneven shape. Nala required a cranial remodeling device to gently reshape her growing skull. The care she received made a lasting impression on her family, though Dr. Patel could not have known then how profoundly that moment would shape his future.

The device that helped Nala was developed by Cranial Technologies, founded by entrepreneur and inventor Jeanne Hertz. At the time, Jeanne was widely recognized for her innovative leadership in healthcare so much so that she — along with baby Nala — appeared on the cover of an Arizona magazine celebrating innovators and female business leaders. But to the Patels, she was simply someone helping their daughter thrive.

Fourteen years later, Dr. Patel’s career — and Jeanne’s life — had come full circle.

Now a thoracic surgeon at HonorHealth Cancer Care, Dr. Patel met Jeanne again under very different circumstances. She was facing lung cancer and had been referred to him for care. For months, their connection was purely clinical — physician and patient working together through diagnosis and treatment.

It wasn’t until right before a Continuing Medical Education (CME) presentation, when Dr. Patel was reviewing Jeanne’s credentials in preparation for introducing her, that something stopped him short.

“I saw that her credentials said she was the founder of Cranial Technologies and I thought, ‘no way — this can’t be,’” Dr. Patel recalls.

He still had the magazine from years earlier. Dr. Patel took a photo of the cover and sent it to Jeanne with a simple question: Is this you?

Her reply was immediate. Yes.

“That’s my daughter sitting in your lap,” he told her.

In that moment, the connection was crystallized — not just between two people, but between past and purpose, care received and care now given.

A vision beyond one patient

As Jeanne and her husband, Frank, navigated her diagnosis, they began speaking with Dr. Patel about what could be done to help others avoid a similarly difficult journey.

“When Jeanne first learned that she had lung cancer, she knew she had been chosen for a reason,” Frank shares. “She didn’t know why she was chosen until we met with Dr. Patel and he explained his vision of early detection, care and proactive community endeavors to help people detect lung cancer.”

Earlier detection had become Dr. Patel’s passion. He saw, far too often, patients diagnosed when little time was left. But he also knew that many cases could be caught sooner if systems were in place to identify lung nodules quickly and act decisively.

“He explained his vision,” Frank says. “It was at that time that Jeanne realized why she was chosen. Because she had passion and financial means to assist Dr. Patel in fulfilling his mission.”

That shared vision sparked something extraordinary. Even as Jeanne faced her own illness, she chose to look outward to the patients who would come after her and to the community she loves.

Together, Jeanne and Frank made a $2 million philanthropic commitment to establish the Jeanne and Frank Hertz Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery Endowment at HonorHealth. The endowment supports the Lung Nodule Program — an initiative designed to accelerate diagnosis, expand patient navigation, increase screenings and improve outreach, particularly for underserved populations.

Their generosity has already inspired others to act. Close friends Jodi Pederson and Tim Beaudin have already made an investment in the endowment, amplifying its ability to save lives through earlier detection.

Turning purpose into impact

The impact of this philanthropic vision isn’t theoretical — it’s already changing outcomes.

Dr. Patel helped launch the Lung Nodule Program and brought physicians together from across the Valley to focus on what was possible when care moved faster and coordination improved.

“We hosted this CME event last November and about 100 physicians from across the community attended,” he says. “Collectively, we all want to shorten the amount of time it takes to treat lung cancer.”

The Lung Nodule Program ensures that when a lung nodule is discovered — whether in the emergency room, urgent care or a primary care office — it doesn’t get lost in the system. Dedicated navigators track patients, apply clear criteria and move quickly when action is needed.

Since launching, the program has already screened 1,700 patients, seen 500 in clinic, biopsied approximately 300 and diagnosed over 60 new lung cancers — all at Stage I, when treatment is most effective.

One patient’s story captures the difference this makes. A 34-year-old woman with no smoking history, no family history of lung cancer and no significant medical issues was referred after a small lung nodule was detected. Under standard practice, watchful waiting might have been the norm. Instead, HonorHealth pulmonologist, Arooj Kayani, MD, pursued a biopsy.

The diagnosis was Stage I adenocarcinoma. From initial scan to biopsy to surgery, her entire care journey took just two and a half weeks.

Time that changed everything.

A legacy that invites others in

“We all only have so much time,” Jeanne reflects. “It can happen to anyone. We have to find cancer earlier so the journey isn’t so difficult. That’s my hope.”

Through their extraordinary generosity, Jeanne and Frank have transformed that hope into a lasting legacy — one that ensures more patients are diagnosed earlier, treated faster and given more moments with the people they love.

The Jeanne and Frank Hertz Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery Endowment stands as a powerful example of what philanthropy can achieve when compassion meets purpose. It’s an invitation to friends, neighbors and fellow community members to invest in earlier detection, better outcomes and a future where fewer families hear the words “too late.”

Because sometimes, the most meaningful gifts come full circle.

Celebrating Nurses Month: Investing in excellence at HonorHealth

For more than 22 years, nurse Bethany Biardi has built her career at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center, most of that time caring for pediatric patients. Drawn to nursing as both a stable profession and a calling to serve, she has spent more than two decades living out that purpose every day.

Today, she serves as a perioperative education coordinator, where her passion for learning and leadership truly shines. In this role, she supports staff development, leads policy and procedure reviews and helps guide best practices across perioperative care.

“I’m truly living my best work life as an education coordinator,” she shares.

Thanks to HonorHealth Foundation’s Nursing Excellence Endowment scholarship, Bethany attended the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) National Conference. The opportunity wouldn’t have been financially possible without donor support. National conferences provide critical continuing education, professional networking and the credits required to maintain specialty certifications.

The impact of that experience quickly extended beyond individual growth. At the conference, Bethany represented HonorHealth by presenting two nursing research projects, including work on urinary catheter patient education and perianesthesia health literacy. This important professional milestone helped her build confidence and validated HonorHealth’s nursing excellence on a national stage.

Just as important, she brought new knowledge home. Inspired by conference education, she helped launch a new initiative focused on perioperative normothermia, improving how patients’ temperatures are managed to enhance safety, comfort and infection prevention. Procedures were aligned with national standards, directly translating learning into better patient care.

“As an education coordinator, I frequently bring back ideas for improvement and new projects,” she says. “The scholarship made that possible.”

During Nurses Month, stories like Bethany’s highlight the ripple effect of donor generosity. Scholarship support not only advances a nurse’s career, it strengthens teams, improves outcomes and elevates care for every patient served.

If stories like Bethany’s inspire you, we invite you to support the Nursing Excellence Endowment. Your gift helps nurses pursue advanced training, share innovative research and bring the highest standards of care back to their patients. By investing in HonorHealth nurses, you are strengthening our workforce, improving patient outcomes and ensuring exceptional care for our community for years to come.

Give today and help our nurses continue to learn, lead and heal.

Croquet for a Cure: A daughter’s tribute, a community’s hope

Croquet for a Cure was born from a place every caregiver knows well — love, loss and the desire to give others a better path forward. Founded and graciously hosted by Meg and Steve Seoane, this now annual event honors Meg's mother, Hermanda O’Connor, whose journey with a neurodegenerative disease deeply shaped Meg’s purpose.

As she watched her mother navigate cognitive decline, Meg experienced firsthand the emotional toll the disease takes — not just on patients, but on the families who love and care for them. Wanting to honor her mother’s strength and grace, and her father’s steadfast love as caregiver through it all, Meg envisioned an event that would feel personal, meaningful and joyful, which reflected her parents.

The result was Croquet for a Cure, an elegant gathering rooted in connection, tradition and community. Guests don classic croquet attire, enjoy a beautiful afternoon together and rally around a shared goal of advancing care for those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related cognitive decline.

This year’s event — held March 7 — continued that legacy, raising nearly $200,000 for the Myles & Hermanda O’Connor Fund, in support of HonorHealth Bob Bové Neuroscience Institute’s new Memory Care Clinic, where research, treatment and compassionate support services come together for patients and families facing neurological disease.

Please join us in honoring Hermanda and Myles’ legacy with a donation to help reach our fundraising goal and fulfil the dream of finding a cure to Alzheimer’s and related cognitive disease. Every gift accelerates progress!

HonorHealth Foundation remembers Dr. James Schamadan, a visionary physician, leader and humanitarian whose life’s work helped shape healthcare in Arizona and laid the philanthropic foundation that continues to advance our mission today. Serving as CEO of Scottsdale Healthcare from 1982-1999, Dr. Schamadan guided the creation and early growth of what is now the HonorHealth Foundation, establishing a culture of generosity, innovation and community partnership. In recognition of his lasting impact, he was named Foundation Trustee Emeritus in 1997.

Dr. Schamadan’s extraordinary career spanned service as a military pilot and physician, engineering professor, global medicine consultant and healthcare executive. His leadership helped transform Scottsdale from a quiet desert community into a thriving healthcare hub. Alongside colleagues and civic leaders, he championed innovation, education and access to care — always guided by a deep belief in service to others. Yet, of all his accomplishments, he most proudly spoke of his family and the values they shared.

His enduring commitment to future generations lives on through the Schamadan Nursing Endowment, created in honor of his late wife, Janet, to support the education and training of nurses who care for patients with compassion and skill.

Dr. Schamadan’s legacy is one of intellect, humility and service, and his influence will continue to be felt in the lives he touched and the mission he helped build.

Make a gift in memory of Dr. Schamadan

Shop for a Cause! 

Please join us for a charitable shopping event May 20-21 at Ralph Lauren in Biltmore Fashion Park and help bring hope to our tiniest patients and their families!

Ralph Lauren
2502 East Camelback Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85016

Ten percent of purchases made by customers shopping on behalf of HonorHealth Foundation will be donated in support of the HonorHealth NICU!

To schedule a private appointment, kindly contact Lisa.Austin@RalphLauren.com.

The power of your support

HonorHealth Foundation Impact Reports demonstrate how the power of philanthropy strengthens and improves healthcare across our community and beyond.

Eight newly-published reports highlight the real-world outcomes of your support, from funding life-saving medical equipment to advancing innovative research and expanding essential community programs. 

Explore the stories and progress made possible by your commitment

Mother’s Day

From your Foundation family, wishing a joyful Mother’s Day to all who nurture, guide and love. Thank you for the countless ways you care for others and make our community stronger every day!

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