The Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Assn. had another good year in 2004.

After raising a record $927,197 in 2003, the association netted a total of $1,624,058 last year, an increase of $696,861.

Much of that increase can be attributed to a $300,000 allocation the hospital received from the House Appropriations Committee, secured by U.S. Rep Dennis Moore.

The hospital initially asked Moore for $570,000 – 10 percent of the expected cost for a renovation of the maternity ward – but endowment staffers were satisfied with the $300,000 contribution.

“That was a huge deal,” said Kathy Clausing, the vice president and chief development officer for the endowment association. “We are one of the few entities that received a federal allocation in Lawrence. We felt very good about that, and we think that’s something we can continue. Because LMH – a lot of people don’t understand – doesn’t receive tax dollars.”

Another major contributor to the endowment association’s success was funding from grants. The hospital received a total of $232,360 in grant money during 2004 from a number of organizations, including the Douglas County Community Foundation, the William T. Kemper Foundation, the Laura Kriz Charitable Fund, the Rice Foundation and the Willman Charitable Trust.

Clausing said soliciting those grant contributions was a carefully orchestrated effort.

“What we do in health care is very calculated when we approach various individuals to help us with projects,” Clausing said. “We always are working very hard at looking at all the options that are available, and trying to match our opportunities with the interests of the funding source.”

The endowment association’s recent fund-raising success bodes well for the major campus expansion planned for the near future, which hospital officials have estimated will cost $35 million. Gene Meyer, president and chief executive officer of the hospital, said initial plans call for the completion of the campus expansion within the next five or six years. The campus expansion would include a renovation of the maternity ward, an expansion of the surgical facilities and a redevelopment of the emergency room.

“It’s designed to meet some of the growing needs of our population,” he said.

To help finance the expansion, the endowment association plans on launching a capital campaign in the next year, Clausing said. That campaign will be the endowment’s primary focus in 2005, and Clausing said she had high hopes for its success.

“I would anticipate that we would have an even better year (this year),” Clausing said. “I base that on the tone of the community and the tone of the staff. Health care is all about how you feel, and our staff does an excellent job at that.”