When meetings are online and our campus is eerily quiet, how does Salem Health stay connected?

Longtime nurse Becky Ruppert wanted to show our community firsthand how our hospital family is doing — so she began Connections, a series of candid interviews with people on the front lines at Salem Health. 

Meet Jim Bauer, our new chief development officer. He began in 2019 to oversee the Salem Health and West Valley Foundations. This relative newbie to Salem Health brings years of experience and connections from a variety of organizations. 

Covering both foundations, what is a typical day like for you?

I try to devote time to working with community members and working with staff who are building and improving the operational capacity of the foundations.

I spend time each day meeting with a variety of people to learn more about health care, gather support, serve as part of Salem Health’s leadership team.

What is something uplifting you’ve experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic that has surprised you?

Seeing the remarkable generosity of people in the community. Experiencing the courage of our staff to overcome their personal trepidation and circumstances to come to work to support our patients and each other. 

Finally, I was uplifted by the raw energy and dedication devoted to the incident command infrastructure that was enacted during the onset of COVID-19. I was very privileged to witness the serious effort and how selflessly everyone tried to be useful and helpful where they could. 

If you had one message to share with everyone, now that we’re six months into the pandemic, what would that be?

Continue to find ways to be kind and thoughtful to those around you. Life goes on, problems are prevalent, but hidden — and kindness is a tonic that we give that applies to problems seen and not easily seen.