Investing in a Culture of Health for All

September 28, 2023

A conversation with Mark Elhilow, Palm Health Foundation Trustee

From paying bills and making payroll disbursements for his grandparent’s dairy business as a youth to becoming managing principal at Blue Ocean Capital, third-generation Palm Beach County native Mark Elhilow has watched his community grow and change. His father, Vince, encouraged him to always take care of the place he calls home by giving back and volunteering, gifts he has bestowed on Palm Health Foundation since he became a trustee in 2018. Mark shares how the foundation is building a culture of health across the county he loves so much and why others should invest in the quality of life for all:


Q: Why is PHF’s work to build a culture of health important to you?


A: When you live somewhere your whole life, you see how the community has evolved and how it's changed. As Palm Beach County’s population has grown over the years, so has the number of people without access to sustainable healthcare resources. This has increasingly deteriorated the quality of life for so many sectors of our community and their family’s ability to thrive. PHF is taking a comprehensive view of how health and wellness are affected by everything—from what people eat to access to information—and making great strides in creating awareness, education, and opportunity for the underserved parts of the community.

Q: What does PHF do differently to build a culture of health in communities?

 

A: The foundation is building a bridge of trust with the community. That has allowed us not only to raise money but to get that money in the hands of the people who can provide services and build opportunities for better health within their own communities. We are becoming thought leaders and facilitators in that regard.

 

Q: You and your wife Susan have made gifts to PHF’s Neuroarts FundWhat impresses you most about the foundation’s work to advance neuroarts?

 

A: I think art is a pathway for a lot of people who are troubled, whether it's PTSD, Parkinson’s, or mental health. We are seeing progress in the foundation’s brain health focus area with the partnerships that are now in place and donations and funding that are starting to flow. And we are getting funding into the hands of those doing the best research and the people and organizations with boots on the pavement at the service level.
 
I really like what we're doing to bring these resources to underserved people so they have as much of an opportunity to access programs as those with financial means. PHF is making measurable progress in establishing itself as the “go-to” organization and foremost thought leader in this space.

 

Q: What would you say to encourage others to consider a gift to Palm Health Foundation?

 

A: Take a few moments to understand how our work is changing the lives of folks, one example at a time. Like anything else, with each success, we are creating momentum, interest, and awareness that can be measured.

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