She came to America in 1955 from her native Germany speaking so
little English that she had to ask her aunt to accompany her to her
first job interview. But in the spirit of every “great American
success story,” Kate M. Tiedemann, a member of Saint Clare’s
Foundation’s board of trustees, today owns and operates the
country’s largest, independently-owned company dedicated exclusively
to ophthalmic surgical instrumentation, Katena Products, Inc.
In 1976, she was rushed to Saint Clare’s Hospital in Denville
suffering from a ruptured appendix. She credits the physicians and
nurses who took care of her with saving her life. She always knew
she would thank Saint Clare’s in some way. On May 7, 2005,
she announced a gift of $5 million to name Saint Clare’s new
maternity center — The Katena Center for Mother and Child — in
honor of her employees and the company she worked so hard to build. “The
Saint Clare’s staff saved my life and that has always stuck
in my mind,” she said during ceremonies unveiling the new,
$11 million, 48,000 square feet center.
Her gift is equal to the largest ever given to New Jersey hospital
by a living individual and helped to fund the state-of-the-art facility,
which features 23 all-private mother/baby suites featuring hotel-like
amenities, including in-room entertainment centers and high-speed
internet access; a new, expanded Level 2 Special Care Nursery; a
new Newborn Nursery; concierge service and many other features.
At the grand opening event, Saint Clare’s literally “showered” more
than 600 expectant parents and 700 other attendees from the community
with gifts, prizes, food and refreshments as it officially named
the new facility.
“We are eternally grateful to Kate Tiedemann for her incredibly
generous and unprecedented gift,” said Joseph Vitale, chief
executive officer of Saint Clare’s Foundation. “Kate’s
inspiring generosity and the amazing turnout at our grand opening
are testaments to the fact that The Katena Center for Mother
and Child is a facility built for the community – and by the
community.”
Including the naming gift, the Foundation has raised more than $8.5
million of the total $11 million cost of the center. Other major
gifts include a $500,000 gift to name the new Newborn Nursery by
Foundation trustees Bruce and Gale Bott in honor of their late grand
niece.
One of the distinctive features of the new KatenaCenter is
a unique donor area – the Baby Block Wall. For gifts of $1,000
or more to Saint Clare’s Foundation, new parents or their loved
ones can share the joy of baby’s arrival with a solid wood,
4 inch-by-4-inch replica of a child’s “baby block,” which
will sit on a hand-made bookshelf just outside the main entrance
to the facility. Individually hand-made, the block (available in
a choice of four colors) is personalized with the donor’s
name as well as the name and birth date of the child, grandchild,
niece or nephew. The blocks can also be inscribed in honor or in
memory of a loved one.
“Participating in Saint Clare’s Baby Block program is
a wonderful way to support vital services for families in our community,” said
Kimberly A. Armenti, Saint Clare’s Director of Foundation and
Marketing. “In addition, it provides a lasting tribute in honor
or memory of your loved one.”
“I have always felt that we must give something back,” said
Tiedemann. “No hospital today can survive or grow without additional
support from the community.”
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