Enduring Commitment: How one donor’s steady support continues to strengthen care, connection & community
Pam Zehowski believes that when something matters, you don’t just support it once, you keep showing up.
For more than 25 years, Pam has worked at Essentia Health. As the General Surgery Residency Program Manager, she supports surgeons in training and coordinates their clinical rotations. For the past 15 years, she has also been a donor and volunteer with the Miller-Dwan Foundation, building a relationship rooted in trust, shared purpose and a consistent desire to help where she’s needed most.
Consistently showing up
Pam’s connection to the Foundation began with volunteering at events. Over time, she started donating, drawn to the Foundation’s focus on programs that met real community needs. When opportunities arose to support specific projects, Pam was ready to help.
One of the first initiatives was the creation of an activities room for the Miller-Dwan inpatient behavioral and mental health unit. Pam committed to a payroll deduction to help bring the space to life, believing that environment matters when people are at their most vulnerable.
“I’ve had a few friends receive care on the unit,” says Pam. “I thought, ‘If we can make that space more comfortable and supportive, why wouldn’t we?’”
When that project was complete, Pam remained engaged, continuing to look for opportunities to contribute and help strengthen the Foundation’s impact. She asked Foundation President, Traci Marciniak, how she could help next.
Supporting care across the continuum
At the time, the Foundation was relocating the Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center to Essentia’s Miller Hill Health Plaza. Polinsky provides specialized outpatient therapy for adults and children with disabilities, as well as musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
Motivated by both professional awareness and personal reflection, Pam committed to another round of payroll deductions.
“I have six grandkids,” Pam says. “Thankfully, they’ve never needed Polinsky. But I always think, ‘What if they did? What if they do someday?’”
Unwavering support meets innovation
Following the Polinsky relocation, Pam returned to Traci to explore where her continued support could make the greatest difference.
This time, the answer was Problem Management Plus (PM+), a World Health Organization–backed program designed to provide low-cost, evidence-based mental health support through trained helpers in the community.
In her role at Essentia, Pam often sees social work and psychology students requesting clinical placements and volunteer hours. She recognized an opportunity to connect the dots.
Pam suggested partnering with local colleges to train social work and psychology students as certified PM+ Helpers. These students would gain hands-on experience while expanding access to mental health support in the community.
Once interest from area colleges is confirmed, Pam plans to personally fund PM+ training for the students.
A deeply personal reason
Pam’s commitment to PM+ is rooted not only in her professional experience, but also in her personal life.
Her mother struggled with mental health challenges, and Pam often reflects on how different things might have been if support had been more accessible.
“If she would have had someone trained to talk to,” Pam says, “it would have made a big difference.”
For Pam, PM+ represents possibility—more trained helpers, more access and more chances for people in crisis to reach someone who can help.
Giving that goes beyond dollars
Pam was the Foundation’s first PM+ donor. She sees the program as a win for both students and the community, giving future professionals meaningful experience while increasing the number of specifically trained helpers available when people need them most.
But what keeps her engaged goes beyond programs.
“When I first started volunteering, the Foundation never made me feel like I was just money,” Pam says. “They made it clear that I mattered whether I gave or not.”
That sense of partnership has fueled her unwavering support. For Pam, that’s what giving is about—showing up, again and again, for work that matters.
