"We just wanted to overcome the loss,” Paula says. Emotional survival was their only goal.

But in time, their grief began to take on new meaning. The Ringhavers came to see philanthropy as a way to honor Lee’s life and help others facing their own health journeys at Mayo Clinic.

“We started realizing our ability to make an impact through philanthropy,” Paula says, "for people across the community and for Lee's legacy.”

The couple has turned that desire to make a difference into a transformational gift supporting Mayo Clinic’s expansion in Florida as part of Bold. Forward. Unbound., the organization’s initiative to reimagine healthcare for the future. Through Bold. Forward. Unbound., Mayo Clinic is creating integrated, technology-enabled environments that bring together clinical care, research and education in new ways. The initiative is designed to seamlessly connect physical space with digital capabilities, accelerating innovation and expanding access for people with serious or complex diseases. The project will add more than 600,000 square feet of new clinical and research space to the Jacksonville campus, including a five-story addition to the hospital tower.

With what we’re doing — and with Mayo Clinic’s track record and plans — the sky’s the limit for Lee’s legacy and our impact.

— Paula Ringhaver

The expansion adds 121 new patient rooms, space for future growth and a redesigned emergency department that will double in size. The new rooms introduce digital technologies that give patients more control and help care teams tailor their treatment to their individual needs. Floor-to-ceiling windows also bring in 80% more natural light than previous hospital designs.

The tower is named for their son, Lee, in honor of Paula and Randy’s gift, a tribute they say creates an ideal match for the spirit motivating their philanthropy.

“I walk into the tower, and I just feel optimism, confidence and trust,” Paula says. “And the whole idea of a tower just fits our mindset. It symbolizes growth and moving forward.”

Built from Decades of Experience

The Ringhavers’ commitment is also rooted in decades of their family’s experiences with Mayo Clinic.

Ever since Randy’s father, L.C. “Ring” Ringhaver, traveled to Rochester for open-heart surgery, the family has been a devoted advocate for Mayo Clinic.

“Dad always thought bringing Mayo Clinic to Jacksonville would ‘put us on the map,’ kind of like getting an NFL team,” Randy says. “And when Mayo Clinic announced it was coming here, I remember him saying, ‘We got our NFL team.’”

After the Jacksonville campus opened in 1986, Paula’s mother received care there for Parkinson’s and Lewy body disease. Over 15 years, the family developed close relationships with her care team.

Randy and Paula later became patients themselves, with experiences that reinforced their trust in Mayo Clinic. The care they have received has helped them enjoy an active lifestyle that includes hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.

Their philanthropy is also shaped by the clinical experiences of their employees at Ring Power, their family-founded company and one of the largest sellers of heavy construction equipment in the Southeast.

“In addition to our family’s history and the experiences of our employees who received lifesaving care at Mayo Clinic, it’s been really rewarding to see what the organization has done for people across Jacksonville,” says Paula.

Taking it to the Limit

Over the years, the Ringhavers have watched Mayo Clinic’s presence in Florida steadily grow — from a single outpatient building in 1986 to a sprawling campus that now cares for more than 175,000 patients each year and employs more than 10,000 people.

Even as the latest expansion nears completion, plans are already underway for the future, supported by the recent purchase of more than 200 additional acres to accommodate long-term growth.

For Paula, that forward motion mirrors the spirit behind their gift.

“With what we’re doing — and with Mayo Clinic’s track record and plans — the sky’s the limit for Lee’s legacy and our impact,” she says.

The post A Legacy Built Forward appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

"We feel privileged and proud to team with an organization that has delivered the best healthcare on the planet for more than 160 years, and is positioned to do even more, even faster and even better,” Thomas Grainger shares.

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Thomas’ grandfather, William W. Grainger, founded the industrial supply company W.W. Grainger in 1927 and was a loyal patient of Mayo Clinic. His parents, David and Juli, were also longtime patients and supported a broad spectrum of projects at Mayo Clinic via the Grainger Foundation.

In recognition of this generous gift, Mayo Clinic will name the Grainger Building, a state-of-the-art logistics facility that will seamlessly deliver essential resources to care teams in the new clinical buildings planned as part of Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester.

We feel privileged and proud to team with an organization that has delivered the best healthcare on the planet for more than 160 years, and is positioned to do even more, even faster and even better.

— Thomas Grainger

Thomas and Elizabeth describe themselves as team players in partnering with Mayo Clinic. Their past philanthropic leadership has accelerated innovations in precision psychiatry, bipolar disorder research, the Center for Digital Health, and urology research and education.

“If I had one message,” says Thomas, “it would be to thank the people of Mayo Clinic who have delivered care to us through our numerous storms of life — and to challenge everyone who has experienced Mayo-quality care to join us in supporting Mayo Clinic together.”

The post Thomas and Elizabeth Grainger appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

"I'll never forget how difficult the recovery was after that first surgery to remove the tumor," Angela recalls. "I ended up with an infection while still recovering at home with my parents. I tried to go back to college afterward, but being away from my support system made everything so much harder." 

Looking back on those early days before receiving care at Mayo Clinic, she shares, "Doctors didn't know what we were dealing with. I wasn't angry — I just kept going because that's all I could do." 

The Turning Point  

Life regained some normalcy after her initial recovery. She met Chris — her future husband — and started planning a future. But less than a year into their marriage, the cancer returned, this time requiring surgery and 30 days of radiation. Two years later, the disease spread to her pelvic lymph nodes. 

This marked a turning point. Angela sought a second opinion at Mayo Clinic, where her care team removed 13 lymph nodes, sparing her from further therapies. "Mayo became my anchor," she says. "For the first time, I felt like I wasn't fighting this alone." 

Mayo became my anchor. For the first time, I felt like I wasn't fighting this alone.

— Angela Bristow

Over the next two decades, Angela’s life became a cycle of surgeries, treatments and recoveries, as tumors returned every two years. Yet she found strength in her "dream team" at Mayo Clinic, including her palliative care team, who are dedicated to easing suffering by managing symptoms associated with serious illness. Beyond medical care, they provide compassionate support to patients and their loved ones during life's most trying moments. 

"I have the distinct privilege of supporting Angela as she navigates the challenges of living with cancer," says Liz Sokolowski, M.D., Angela’s palliative care physician. "From our first meeting, I was deeply moved by her resilience and strength, and how she continues to maintain hope and her sense of humor. Patients like Angela are true heroes. They teach us daily about courage, and they remind us why we do this work." 

Fighting Forward

Advances in treatment provided new hope. What began with surgeries and radiation evolved into cryoablation, thermal ablation, and more recently, oral chemotherapy. Even when the cancer metastasized to her lungs a decade ago, Angela faced each recurrence with determination, balancing the fear of the unknown with acceptance.  

"Cancer doesn't own me," she affirms. "It's part of my story, but not the whole story. I'm still learning, still growing and still fighting. There's a reason I'm here." 

Angela's journey is one of resilience, self-advocacy and profound partnership — with her care team and her family. Chris has been her unwavering support, whether staying overnight in hospital chairs or managing wound care. Their daughter, now a teenager, has grown up witnessing her mother's courage. "She was just 3 months old when she stayed in my hospital room. She's my light, and Chris is my rock."

Now, Angela speaks with heartfelt wisdom. 

"I wish I could tell my 19-year-old self it will be OK. Cancer doesn't define life — it's just a part of it," Angela says. For those walking a similar path, she offers this advice: "Advocate for yourself, build a trusted care team and don’t let cancer take more than it has to. You are stronger than you think." 

Holding Hope 

Since first sharing her story, Angela’s journey has continued to evolve. She is now living with metastatic ependymoma and recently completed proton beam therapy at Mayo Clinic. While no additional treatment is scheduled at this time, her care continues through close monitoring and regular scans.  

Through it all, Angela remains grounded in the same quiet resilience she’s practiced for decades — focusing on daily life, protecting her sense of joy and holding hope in the moments that matter most. 

A version of this story was published on Mayo Clinic News Network. 

The post Living Beyond Diagnosis appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

He looks ahead to a world in which artificial intelligence (AI) alters the trajectory of healthcare, utilizing expertise from every corner of the globe to help doctors make decisions that are both faster and better.

"If you perform sophisticated brain surgery and you can look at the best approaches from anywhere and see exactly what worked, you're only going to do a better job for patients," explains Dick, the founder of Best Buy and chairman of the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.

Dick believes that Mayo Clinic, with its multidisciplinary expertise and history of innovation, is the healthcare organization best positioned to lead this revolutionary change. In 2024, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation made a generous gift to Mayo Clinic focused on education and artificial intelligence, establishing the Richard M. Schulze Innovation Awards in Artificial Intelligence.

These awards foster entrepreneurial activities that utilize AI to create new education methodologies, ultimately transforming patient outcomes.

"Mayo Clinic has tremendous value because they're all about learning," says Dick, recognized as a Philanthropic Partner for his generosity to Mayo Clinic. “They’re all about diagnostics and putting the best possible treatment plans in place for patients.”

Artificial intelligence at Mayo is going to empower doctors, surgeons and specialists to be even better at what they do.

— Dick Schulze

Mayo Clinic's inaugural Richard M. Schulze Scholars in Artificial Intelligence are tackling a wide range of topics. They're developing AI-powered digital avatars to guide surgical simulation and multilingual patient education. They are also creating coaching systems that help medical trainees with communication skills, wellness and specialty-specific training.

AI is also enhancing Mayo Clinic’s educational mission. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science is infusing the ethical and responsible use of AI technology into the student experience. Mayo Clinic learners are building skills and competencies that will allow them to adapt as healthcare changes and to develop fusion skills, which combine the strengths of humans and machines to achieve superior outcomes for patients.

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation’s philanthropy fuels collaboration across disciplines that optimizes education for the healthcare needs of the future.

“We give to people that use our support to be exponentially more successful,” Dick says. “I’m convinced that artificial intelligence at Mayo is going to empower doctors, surgeons and specialists to be even better at what they do, because they’ll be able to call on information from around the world.”

The post Richard M. “Dick” Schulze appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

Doctors told him to take more vitamins. They tried acupuncture and electroshock therapy. A specialist biopsied a piece of his leg muscle but could not determine the cause of his deteriorating health. By the time he made his way to Mayo Clinic, he could no longer muster the strength to lift his arms or even hold up his head. "He was like a puppet," says Sylvie.

Ashley Santilli, M.D., the clinical fellow at Mayo Clinic assigned to his case, told the family not to lose hope. "She was really persistent," recalls Sylvie. "She said, 'We will get to the bottom of this — we will figure out what's wrong.'"

Integrated Know-How

At the time, Dr. Santilli was training under Teerin Liewluck, M.D., a neurologist who had trained under the late Andrew Engel, M.D., a pioneer of muscle disease research. Over nearly six decades at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Engel discovered several new neuromuscular disorders and identified the underlying mechanisms of many others.

"One thing he always told me was that he was still learning, even after all those years," says Dr. Liewluck. "He taught me that I need to keep an open mind, because there are always new things to learn and discover."

Because José’s mysterious illness arose rapidly and later in life, Dr. Liewluck thought the cause was probably not genetic. Congenital muscle diseases typically emerge slowly in early childhood. But when he looked at José’s muscle biopsy under the microscope, he was surprised to see abnormally large mitochondria, the energy-producing structures often called the "powerhouses of the cell." Giant mitochondria, also known as megaconia, are associated with a type of congenital muscular dystrophy caused by mutations in a gene called CHKB.

To make sure they were not missing a new presentation of this incurable condition, the team requested genetic testing, which confirmed that José did not harbor any suspicious CHKB variants. So they returned to the biopsy in search of more clues.

"The unique thing about neuromuscular medicine at Mayo is we get specific training in diagnostic tests, like biopsy interpretation and EMG," says Dr. Santilli, referring to electromyography, a test that measures muscle response to nerve stimulation. "You get to be the whole provider for a particular patient, instead of relying on other specialists to help us interpret those tests."

A New Disease

José's case gave Dr. Liewluck a sense of déjà vu. He recalled another patient, years earlier, who was part of a study on a severe form of muscle inflammation. That patient's biopsy also was marked by giant mitochondria. The patient's story was only pieced together later: an adult who developed muscle weakness, but whose illness was complicated by an underlying cancer. Treated by another physician, the patient initially improved with immunotherapy, but ultimately the cancer claimed her life.

To better understand José's muscle disease, the researchers performed a series of special stains on his biopsy, each revealing various aspects of muscle structure and pathology. In addition to the unusually large mitochondria within his muscle fibers, they found evidence of inflammation, indicating an autoimmune process was at play. The team believed that José's immune system was mistakenly attacking his muscles. If they were right, then immunotherapy might help him regain his strength.

"We couldn't guarantee or predict the outcome," says Dr. Liewluck.

They told José that he would be the first patient they treated with this new disease, which they called immune-mediated megaconial myopathy (IMMM). They treated him aggressively with regular rounds of intravenous immunoglobulin and steroids. And he got better.

Before treatment, José's levels of creatine kinase, a blood biomarker commonly used to monitor muscle damage, were sky high. With treatment, those levels dropped back within the normal range, suggesting that his overactive immune system had been put in check. More importantly, José felt stronger and required less assistance, showering on his own, tinkering in his garage — even driving himself to rehab.

Unfortunately, José's illness may have gone too long without treatment to allow a full recovery. Chronic inflammation and repeated muscle damage can gradually lead to the replacement of healthy muscle tissue with fat and scar tissue.

"That gives you evidence that you need to catch these cases earlier," says Dr. Liewluck.

Earlier Answers

The team turned to the Mayo Clinic Muscle Pathology database to see if they could find other patients with this new disease within recent years. They identified two more patients who shared the same distinctive features — profound muscle weakness in adulthood, strikingly enlarged mitochondria, inflammatory reaction in muscle tissue, and elevated creatine kinase levels. Working in collaboration with an outside institute, they uncovered a third case. Along with José and the case from the prior research study, the count had risen to five. José and the two newer patients, all of whom received immunotherapy, responded well to treatment.

Now, Dr. Liewluck is delving deep into Mayo Clinic's extensive muscle tissue repository, combing through biopsies that span not just recent years, but decades, in search of other overlooked cases — patients who may have had IMMM long before it was recognized as a distinct entity.

"I actually think there might be many more than we know," says Dr. Santilli.

Interestingly, all the patients they have identified thus far have also had some form of pancreatic disease, such as pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis. Though the link is not entirely clear, the pancreas expresses high levels of choline kinase beta, the same protein that is disrupted in CHKB-related muscular dystrophy. Dr. Liewluck is collaborating with neuroimmunologist Div Dubey, M.B.B.S., to try to identify the antibody that triggers the immune attack, ultimately causing disease.

Once they find that autoantibody, they can test for it in the blood to diagnose more patients with IMMM. For now, they will have to rely on their expert review of muscle biopsies combined with clinical observations.

Though José is not back to his old self, he is happy that his case has already helped others. And he is making the most of the strength he has.

By last spring, José had recovered enough to travel to his home country of El Salvador. His family helped him take a walk on the beach and watched over him as he swam in the ocean. Until recently, it was more than he thought was possible.

A version of this story was published on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The post Construction Worker Rapidly Loses Ability to Walk, Researchers Discover the Cause appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

Accelerating Hope

Sometimes, one seemingly insignificant moment divides life into before and after. For Karen Koellner, it was the simple act of leaning over in bed to grab her phone charger that changed everything.

The pain was sudden and sharp as she shifted onto her side. She got up and walked to the mirror to see what was wrong. That’s when she discovered a lump under her arm. "I instantly was like, 'Oh my gosh, I must have cancer,’" she says.

The next morning she was on the phone with her doctor, who sent a referral to Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus. She braced herself for what often comes next in moments like these: waiting. She was told it could take up to a week to receive a call back.

For patients facing a possible life-altering diagnosis, the referral process can feel like suspended time. But Karen’s phone rang just two hours later, thanks to intelligent automation working quietly behind the scenes.

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Finding Hope in a Time of Uncertainty

When something feels wrong, reassurance can’t come fast enough. Getting an appointment on the calendar is the first step toward answers.

"Patients are worried whether or not they're going to get in to be seen," says Erin Layman, operations manager at Mayo Clinic. Timeliness matters just as much. Mayo Clinic in Arizona alone receives more than 60,000 referrals per year, a number that continues to grow.

Until recently, processing those referrals required a time-consuming manual system.

"It took maybe two or three people to validate the faxes," says Gabriel Hernandez, patient liaison at Mayo Clinic. "It could be anywhere from a few pages to a hundred pages, and someone had to scan through each page to determine what each fax concerned."

Because of this lengthy process, there could be delays in callbacks. When patients are seeking care for potentially life-threatening conditions, those setbacks can mean prolonged fear, mounting uncertainty and critical lost time. "Some of these are serious cancer diagnoses, so it's a matter of life and death for some patients," Gabriel adds.

For an organization grounded in providing hope and healing to as many patients as possible, these delays demanded a solution. Mayo Clinic moved quickly to transform the system. That's where generative artificial intelligence (AI) entered the picture.

The Age of Automation

At the scale Mayo Clinic operates, having a human scan every page of every fax to locate key clinical details and determine urgency simply wasn’t sustainable. Referrals were arriving faster than they could be manually processed.

With generative AI’s help, Erin says information can now be quickly extracted from a variety of different documents and summarized into a cover sheet that is reviewed by one of Mayo Clinic’s agents for accuracy. "Then that individual can move it forward to the next step in the process," he says.

This technology doesn’t replace people. Instead, it empowers them by reducing administrative burden to focus on what matters most: the patient.

When the new automated system launched in July 2024, the impact was immediate. With the technology in place, referrals for patients with serious or complex medical conditions are now reviewed and processed in less than 24 hours.

Mayo Clinic trialed its new automated referral system in Phoenix, Arizona, and Rochester, Minnesota. The plan is to expand it to the Jacksonville, Florida, campus in 2026.

A Faster Path to Care

Gabriel says patients are frequently surprised to hear back so quickly. Karen was no exception.

Because the intelligent referral processing system flagged her case as urgent, staff acted quickly. By the next day, appointments were scheduled across multiple specialties and her care team was already coordinating next steps.

Karen’s intuition was right: She was later diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Today, she is cancer-free.

"Time is so important when you get a cancer diagnosis," Karen says.

Erin says Mayo Clinic invested in this technology because patients needed it.

"With this automation, patients are getting the help they need sooner," he says. "For the patients, that means hope."

The post Accelerating Hope appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

By tailoring irrigation to the specific needs of each plant species, the landscape thrived and water use for the Phoenix campus's landscape dropped by more than 60%.

The journey to big water savings started when Cheryl Lisiewski, director of Facilities Project Management, noticed something unusual with the plants at Mayo Clinic in Arizona’s Phoenix campus. The less-than-lush landscape was struggling. Seasonal monsoon rains sometimes toppled full-grown trees, and the irrigation puddled water around tree trunks.

In 2021, Mayo Clinic partnered with irrigation experts to study the Phoenix and Scottsdale campuses’ plant life and water delivery systems. Through this detailed analysis, Cheryl and her team learned how to better nurture their landscapes while conserving one of Arizona’s most precious resources. The study revealed simple but powerful improvements: adjusting irrigation systems and tailoring watering to the needs of individual trees.

The result: healthier plants and significant water savings. Prior to this landscape improvement, the Phoenix campus used around 20 million gallons of irrigation water across its more than 200 acres — an area the size of more than 100 soccer fields. Water use has dropped to under 8 million gallons in 2025, reducing water usage more than 60%, says David Rivas, director of Facilities Engineering and Operations at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Some of the savings came from routine maintenance such as repairing leaks in the system. But much more came from the revelation that the trees and other vegetation would be healthier with less water.

Overwatering Palo Verde trees, for example, caused the roots to grow close to the surface, rather than reaching down into the earth in search of water. Without a deep root structure, the trees easily fell over. Overwatering also left the plants more susceptible to pests and disease. “They weren’t as hardy because they didn’t learn how to survive on their own,” says Cheryl.

Today, the landscape is far lusher and healthier. Patients entering the campus are greeted with vibrant colors and floral scents.

“That’s our way of contributing to the patient experience,” Cheryl says. “We get a lot of comments from patients and visitors about how beautiful the campus looks. We take pride in that.”

The post Mayo Clinic in Arizona’s Surprising Secret to Lusher Desert Landscapes appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

He and his wife of 25 years, Lu, faced the unknown together. They knew it would be a long battle, but they didn't anticipate how Lu's decision to donate her kidney would transform not only Paul's prognosis but also their already strong marriage.

A Life-Changing Decision

Paul had begun feeling tired and underwent a physical. A biopsy revealed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare kidney disease causing scar tissue to develop on the parts of the kidney that filter waste from the blood. His initial physicians, unfamiliar with FSGS, offered limited treatment options.

After two years of seeking care at various medical centers, the Bianchis sought an opinion at Mayo Clinic in 2011.

"The physicians at Mayo Clinic were sincere," Lu says. "They allowed us a voice and were selfless, always considering what was best for the patient."

Paul’s kidney function had declined from 18% to 9% between his diagnosis and his Mayo Clinic visit.

The Bianchis attended an educational session on dialysis, a process where a machine filters waste, salt and fluid from the blood when kidneys fail. While dialysis is a life-prolonging treatment, it can also be a challenging experience for patients and their families between physical discomfort, time commitment, and the emotional and psychological toll it can take. The Bianchis decided this was not the lifestyle they wanted.

FSGS is a serious condition potentially leading to kidney failure, treatable only through dialysis or a kidney transplant. Determined to keep Paul off dialysis, Lu offered to donate her kidney. They opted for a paired-organ donation, where recipient pairs exchange donors to ensure compatibility.

The probability of a spouse or life partner being a match for a kidney donation is about 1 in 35, according to government data on successful transplants. Fortunately, Lu was a match for Paul.

"When you love someone," Lu says, "you don't want anything to happen to them. You want to spend the rest of your life together and enjoy it."

Healing Together

On September 11, 2017, Lu gave Paul the ultimate gift — her kidney.

They remember the preoperative area vividly. "They took her first, and the gravity of the situation hadn't hit me yet," Paul says. "But the minute she was out of the room, everything was about her. Her life was more important to me at that moment."

The transplant was successful, but their journey wasn't over. Paul experienced recurring infections, requiring a corrective procedure. Lu's recovery took nearly a year, yet she never wavered.

"It was a blessing to give this gift," Lu says. "I didn't want him to suffer — I just wanted more time with him."

The physicians at Mayo Clinic were sincere. They allowed us a voice and were selfless, always considering what was best for the patient.

— Lu Bianchi

Their bond deepened after the transplant. They now joke about Paul developing some of Lu’s traits, like a curl of hair on the right side of his head — the same side where Lu's kidney was placed.

"We don't like to be apart," Lu says. "Even a trip to the grocery store feels too far."

Today, Paul and Lu divide their time between Sacramento and Rochester. They enjoy gardening, traveling to Alaska and their animals. They remain deeply connected to Mayo Clinic, not just as patients but as generous benefactors.

Their story has also inspired others to consider living donation.

"It takes one person to create a movement," Lu says. "Helping Paul wasn't just because he was my husband. It was because he was someone who deserved to live."

The post Paul and Lu Bianchi appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

Gilchrist was pleased to find that no matter how many questions he asked, he always had the full attention of Mayo Clinic staff. As someone whose ability to judge character has fueled tremendous business success, Gilchrist observed that there was a higher level of collaboration at Mayo Clinic than he had seen elsewhere.

These qualities — the attention to patients’ needs and the level of teamwork — stood out to Gilchrist, and he believed they resulted in stronger care. Gilchrist was told he should strengthen his core to reduce his back pain and was prescribed a regimen to make it happen.

He has been both a Mayo Clinic patient and admirer ever since.

“Mayo Clinic changed my life,” Gilchrist says. “The people are what make Mayo Clinic great and why I’ve never had a bad experience. They’re authentic, they do what they say they’re going to do, and one of their core values is collaboration, which is so important.”

The admiration Gilchrist and his wife, Amy, felt toward Mayo Clinic and its values grew substantially when they played a pivotal role in sharing the story of the organization’s history. Amy led The Better Angels Society, which, under her leadership and with the couple’s support, helped bring Ken Burns’ 2018 PBS documentary “The Mayo Clinic: Faith – Hope – Science” to a national audience.

Amy has held leadership roles in public administration, nonprofit leadership and urban planning and is the current president of the Berg Family Foundation. Gilchrist launched the foundation in 1986, after experiencing years of success at the Jacksonville-based private investment firm he founded, Water Street Capital.

“I got to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes history of Mayo Clinic and was just so impressed,” Amy says. “There aren’t many institutions like it. The people and the culture of Mayo Clinic are so excellent, and that’s why they’ve lasted for a long time.”

Around the time the PBS documentary aired, the Bergs were invited to become involved with a new program Mayo Clinic was planning: the Innovation Exchange.

The Exchange helps internal and external innovators by eliminating barriers and streamlining healthcare solutions. Its curated network includes experts in artificial intelligence (AI), digital health, regulatory science, investment, product design and entrepreneurship. 

Mayo Clinic changed my life.

— Gilchrist Berg

Because the Bergs understood Mayo Clinic deeply from their experiences as patients and the Ken Burns documentary, they recognized the potential of the Exchange to advance Mayo Clinic’s values worldwide. As the Exchange’s vision took shape, Gilchrist grew increasingly excited about what it could mean.

“He's very curious and he’s very interested in issues at the intersection of innovation and science,” Amy says. “He loves getting in on the ground floor of big ideas.”

Gilchrist’s roommate at Princeton University, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, says that it’s not surprising his lifelong friend would be drawn to something as unique as the Exchange.

“I’ve always admired how Gilchrist’s intellect, discipline and creativity have shaped extraordinary success in business and in life,” Sen. Frist says. “What inspires me most is how he channels that same brilliance into shaping the future — investing in ideas and people that can transform entire fields.”

The Bergs made the first-ever gift to the Exchange in 2019. For the next six years, they were closely connected with the growing program, frequently engaging with leaders about how the Exchange could best evolve to meet the needs of healthcare innovators worldwide.

The Bergs’ confidence in the program’s alignment with Mayo Clinic’s values of excellence, compassion and discovery grew through regular conversations held with enterprise and Exchange leaders. With the right amount of benefactor support, Gilchrist felt certain the Exchange was poised to help shape the future of healthcare innovation.

“What Mayo Clinic can provide fantastically is a connection to resources that we have developed over the centuries,” says Charles Bruce, M.B., Ch.B., the Exchange’s medical director. “Gilchrist and Amy have provided not only financial support — both of them have provided wisdom and counsel.”

In 2025, Gilchrist and Amy provided a landmark $50 million gift to the program, setting the Exchange on a course for enduring growth. The program was renamed the Mayo Clinic Berg Innovation Exchange in their honor.

“The Exchange is a way to align the healthcare marketplace with Mayo Clinic values, which I really believe in,” Gilchrist says. “It’s important that these values guide the development of global health because there are a lot of challenges in the world. Mayo Clinic is one of the world’s great public-facing institutions.”

The post From Patient Care to Global Impact — The Story Behind One Couple’s Gift appeared first on Mayo Clinic Magazine.

With his mallet in hand and a quiet buzz of anticipation in the air, John lined up for a jump shot — and executed it perfectly. But as the ball moved toward its target, a sharp pain jolted through his arm and shoulder. The next thing he knew, he was at a nearby emergency room.

"They did an X-ray. It clearly showed my arm was broken in half, and that was rather confusing to me,” John says. “I wasn’t an old guy. I was in great shape. There was no reason for my bones to break.”

John and Gail, who split time between Scottsdale, Arizona, and the coast of Massachusetts, traveled to Boston to meet with an orthopedist, wanting to understand what could have caused such a severe fracture. The MRI results found the culprit: a tumor.

An Unexpected Diagnosis

John was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow that weakens the bone from the inside out. In his case, the cancer had progressed enough to make his arm susceptible to fracture — even during a relatively low-impact activity such as croquet.

“When the doctors came into my room and told me I had this cancer, I’d never even heard of it. No matter how much you think you can be ready for someone to tell you that, you’re not,” John says. “I figured I was going to die within the next month and was running through all the different scenarios: ‘What can I do? What should I do? What do I have to do before I die?’”

It wasn’t long before John was undergoing his first operation to remove the cancer, followed by radiation, chemotherapy and other infusion drugs. Unfortunately, despite these interventions, the cancer still spread to his other arm, prompting a second surgery. “Here I am, both arms in slings at the same time. That made life challenging,” he says.

As John headed home to Scottsdale postsurgery, his future felt uncertain and hope out of reach. But everything changed after becoming a patient at Mayo Clinic.

Finding Hope

As a resident of the Desert Mountain community in Scottsdale, John was able to utilize Desert Mountain CARE to connect with Leif Bergsagel, M.D., an oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona who specializes in multiple myeloma treatment.

“The moment I got an email from him that said, ‘Sure, I’d love to take you on as a patient,’ there was this relief, joy and exhilaration,” John says. “I went from thinking, ‘I’m not going to find anyone’ to having a terrific doctor at Mayo Clinic. When I read that email, I was dancing around the house the rest of the day.”

Dr. Bergsagel, a David F. and Margaret T. Grohne Professor of Novel Therapeutics for Cancer Research, reassured John that most of what’s found online about multiple myeloma is out of date. “It used to be that multiple myeloma was a death sentence, with a survival rate of about three years. That’s no longer the case,” he says.

Mayo Clinic has developed highly effective new treatments that can keep the cancer at bay, giving patients like John hope.

A Path Forward

In January 2023, John received a stem cell transplant while under Dr. Bergsagel’s care. “After a bone marrow biopsy, it became clear that I was doing extremely well against this cancer,” John says.

Stem cell therapy is just one part of a growing number of treatment options for multiple myeloma. Looking ahead, the future of treating rare cancers such as multiple myeloma may include cutting-edge approaches like CAR-T cell therapy — a promising form of immunotherapy that involves reprogramming a patient’s own immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells.

“It sounds like science fiction. We’re harnessing the patient’s T cells to identify the cancer and eradicate it,” Dr. Bergsagel says. “We take the T cells out of a patient and engineer them to recognize the tumor, then put them back in the patient. They expand exponentially and kill the tumor — and keep it away for years.”

Dr. Bergsagel says the goal is to reach the point of being able to treat cancer like a chronic disease, such as high blood pressure.

"We’re getting closer and closer to that. The future is really bright for patients with multiple myeloma,” he says. “We don’t think that we can cure it just yet, but we think we can control it for decades at this point. We’re looking at ways of improving the quality of life for the patients on those therapies so they can basically lead a normal life.”

Back on the Court

Throughout John’s entire cancer journey, he held onto one vision: getting back to croquet.

"When I had my stem cell transplant, I spent most of the day in bed and I would dream of going back on the croquet court and being able to swing my mallet and enjoy my friends, and play with my wife as a partner,” he says.

Now, that dream is a reality. John is back to playing the game he loves, with gratitude in every swing. But for him, it’s more than a return to normal. It’s a reminder of how far he’s come — and how much more there is to look forward to.

“I’ve got my cancer count down now to virtually indistinguishable levels, which is very encouraging to me,” John says. “Dr. Bergsagel assures me that moving forward, we have a good chance of keeping it there.”

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