Your Brain on Pain: The Science of Pain Education
Here at the Miller-Dwan Foundation, we are anti-pain. We don’t like it and are totally against it. That, however, doesn’t mean we don’t need it. Pain is critical to us understanding when something is wrong – physically, mentally and spiritually. But chronic pain – that pain that just won’t go away – is associated with all manner of mental health
Miller-Dwan Foundation: 2020 Year in Review
Well, we’ve almost made it. The end of 2020 is almost here and we can then literally say, “Hindsight is 2020.” All jokes aside, 2020 was a wild year. Unexpected, unprecedented, unbelievable. While we hope that 2021 will bring a bit more love and light to the picture, we have to admit that there were some aspects of this year
Be our Underdog
Remember Underdog, the blue-caped humble and lovable superhero cartoon dog of the 1960’s? If you missed that era, here’s a brief rundown: By day, Underdog lived the life of the bespectacled Shoeshine Boy complete with a big black nose and long floppy ears. But when villains threatened, Shoeshine Boy ducked into a telephone booth where he transformed into the caped
Gratitude, Thankfulness and Zombie Turkeys
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I ‘m usually gearing up for time with family, getting ready to take my culinary skills up a notch and excited for the official start of the holiday season. Because of COVID-19, things will obviously look different this year. There is a part of me that expects zombie turkeys to be a thing, but
Every day is National Philanthropy Day
I like to think every day is National Philanthropy Day… and I’d hazard a guess that Douglas Freeman feels the same. Honestly, I don’t know if many people outside of the non-profit and fundraising world know the story of Douglas Freeman. Douglas Freeman is the reason there is a National Philanthropy Day…a day designed to recognize and thank people and
No Matter Your Age, You Should have a Will
Do you know exactly when you will die? If the answer is, “no,” then you should have a will. Whether you’re 27 or 82, a will can save your loved one’s additional distress after you’re gone. And if you’re a parent of children, having a will is doubly important. Yes, we’re talking about a will to detail how your property
ARTcetera meets CYBERcetera: A Historical Look Back
Pat Burns remembers the nervous excitement of launching ARTcetera with her team at the Miller-Dwan Foundation. It was 1999 and the Foundation, with its history of high impact medical philanthropy, needed a boost for its efforts to support life-saving treatments and therapies in the region. “What if no one comes?” says Pat, who served as president of the Foundation from
Stepping up to construct hope for the region’s health
Solvay Hospice House has a special place in the heart of Shane Johnson. His company, Johnson Wilson Constructors, constructed the Duluth healthcare facility in 2007 following a Miller-Dwan Foundation campaign to create the region’s first residential hospice house. That’s when the Foundation, which owns and maintains Solvay, got on Shane’s radar as a charity worth paying closer attention to. “Working
Giving Intensive Support for Intense Mental Health Needs
When it comes to helping people deal with a life-threatening mental health crisis, there’s one place in northern Minnesota that treats more patients, more intensively, than anywhere else. The 38-bed Adult Behavioral Health Unit in Essentia Health’s Miller-Dwan Building sees patients diagnosed with mental illness from throughout Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The unit is always
Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center: Then and Now
The Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center. It’s been around for 100 years, and it exists today only because of a small number of passionate people who were committed to offering rehabilitation care in Duluth. Let’s take a look. The 1910’s… The story of rehabilitation in Duluth begins with Kate Barnes being severely burned during the fires of 1918. For Kate to
