What the Employee CareFund meant to one family

Morgan Haynes has spent more than 40 years of his career with Presbyterian.

As a paramedic education captain at Albuquerque Ambulance, he has built a career around caring for others. His wife, Kim Van Valkenburgh, is also a paramedic and has worked at Presbyterian for approximately 12 years.

But over the course of about 18 months, Morgan and Kim suddenly found themselves facing a series of unexpected hardships of their own.

First, Kim’s son died suddenly and unexpectedly. The following year, just weeks before Morgan planned to compete in his first full Ironman, a medical emergency landed him in the ICU for four days. Later, Kim experienced another major medical event.

One difficult event followed another. And along with the emotional and physical toll came financial stress they hadn’t planned for.

That’s when Morgan and Kim turned to the Employee CareFund.

Having that financial safety net made an enormous difference. “These things generally come up and you’re not ready for them,” Morgan said.

The support helped ease some of the financial stress during an already difficult time. For Morgan, the experience also changed the way he thought about Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation.

“Presbyterian has been my family and my support system for over half my life,” he said. Knowing that support was there when he and Kim needed it was “heartfelt, endearing, comforting, all of those things.”

A little can mean a lot

Today, Morgan sees PRESGiving differently, too.

He knows firsthand that the dollars employees choose to give can reach a coworker during a moment they never saw coming.

“It is a simple, seamless, pain-free way to literally make a life-changing difference in somebody’s life,” he said.

For the thousands of Presbyterian employees who already give through PRESGiving, Morgan and Kim’s story offers a glimpse of what that generosity can mean on the other side: less financial stress during an already difficult time and the reassurance of knowing their Presbyterian community is there for them.

For Morgan and Kim, that support became deeply personal. After careers spent showing up for others, they experienced what it meant to have their coworkers show up for them.

“I feel really proud to be part of an organization that provides this type of support to employees,” Morgan said.