“I’ve been to Mayo and other places and I don’t think you can get any better care when it comes to cardiology than with Prairie. Without Prairie, I wouldn’t be here, many people throughout Illinois would not be here, and Illinois would not be the great place that it is to live and raise a family.”
Jim Edgar, Former Governor of Illinois
Prairie’s Greatest Needs
With your gift to the Prairie Heart Foundation’s greatest needs, you can immediately and directly support innovative technology, expanded access to patient care, research, education, equipment, programs, facility improvements and more. Your generosity allows us to continue our shared mission to deliver nationally recognized care in local communities, as well as developing new and more efficient ways of meeting our patients’ needs. Check out our upcoming events below.


Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States and world. When Dr. James Dove established Prairie Cardiovascular in 1979, his vision was to extend access to world-class care throughout rural Illinois.
The result is a network of community cardiovascular clinics that has grown to include more than 70 cardiologists and 50 advanced practice Physicians and APCs who care for patients in 50 clinic locations throughout central and southern Illinois.
Prior to his death in 2010, Dr. Dove often reminded colleagues, “The past provides us with direction, and the future provides us with opportunity.”
With your gift to the Prairie Heart Foundation, you can directly support innovative technology, expanded access to patient care, research, patient and operating rooms, medical education, equipment, and where the need is the greatest. You may also pay tribute to a special person who made a difference in your visit or stay with us. Your caregiver will receive an acknowledgment letter announcing a contribution has been made in his or her honor.
Thank you for your generosity that allows us to continue our shared mission to deliver nationally recognized care in local communities, as well as developing new and more efficient ways of meeting our patients’ needs.
Ways To Give
- Cash or Check
- Credit Cards
- Memorial and Honor Gifts
- Matching Gifts
- Stocks/Securities
- Planned Gifts
- Charitable Trusts
- Corporate//Foundation Gifts
- Life Insurance
- Farmland
- Endowment
- Online Donating
The Prairie Heart Foundation is happy to accept your American Express, Discover Card, Visa or Master Card. Please call our office at 217-494-1194 or click below for a secure donation page.
DONATE NOW
Honor Your Heart Care Hero
Gifts of any size to Prairie Heart can be made in honor or in memory of someone. Donors make gifts to remember a loved one, to recognize a physician or another caregiver or to celebrate a special occasion. If you wish to make a gift in honor or in memory of someone, please include the name of the person as well as the contact information (name and address) for any person who we can notify of your thoughtfulness.
Matching gifts occur when a company matches the charitable contribution of an employee to a nonprofit organization. If you (or your spouse) work for a matching gift company, your gift may be doubled, or even tripled. The matching gift procedure is very simple. The employee gets a matching gift form from their human resources department. After completing the form, the employee sends it along with their gift to the Prairie Heart Foundation. (You may also send in the form after you have made the gift.) The Prairie Heart Foundation confirms on the form that it has received the gift and meets the company’s guidelines for receiving a matching gift. The Foundation then returns the form to the company. The company verifies eligibility of the employee and sends a check to the Prairie Heart Foundation. For more information, please call our office at 217-494-1194.
Gifts of appreciated securities may offer you significant tax savings. For information how to transfer securities to Prairie Heart Foundation, please call our office at 217-494-1194.
Gifts Made Through a Will
Members of the Prairie Heart Legacy Society have arranged for a charitable bequest – a gift made from an estate, after death, or as a result of instructions outlined in a will. Bequests can be of a specific dollar amount, a specific asset or assets or for a percentage of an estate. If you choose to give a gift to Prairie Heart through your will, you can make your bequest available for our immediate use or you may restrict it to endowment. With endowment gifts, a portion of the investment earnings are used to fulfill the stated purpose of the gift. The proper way to list Prairie Heart in your estate is: Prairie Heart Foundation, a division of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, Inc., 619 E. Mason St., Springfield, IL 62701.
If you have or are planning on including Prairie Heart in your will, you are eligible to become a member of our Prairie Heart Legacy Society. Please call or write our office and let us know
Charitable trusts are gifts that allow you to receive ongoing income from an asset. They provide donors with regular cash payments, current charitable income tax deduction, avoidance or reduction of estate taxes and elimination of money-management concerns. Named charitable recipients would receive the remainder of assets upon death.
If your company or foundation would like to contribute directly to Prairie Heart, please call our office at 217-494-1194.
Transferring a life insurance policy’s ownership can result in great tax benefits for you and is a generous way to give. Prairie Heart Foundation can also be included as a beneficiary of an existing or new policy.
If you own acreage or farmland, a charitable gift of the land can be especially tax-advantageous.
An endowment is an amount of money that is given to the Prairie Heart Foundation with a stipulation that the funds are invested to earn annual interest rather than spent immediately. A portion of the annual earnings is used to support programs within Prairie Heart. An endowment can be restricted to a specific purpose or unrestricted to be used for the greatest need. Named endowments are a gracious way to honor a loved one or a family name. A minimum of $10,000 is required to establish a named endowment.
Click Here to donate online today.
Sherry Barr: Don’t Ignore the Signs of a Heart Attack
On October 1, 2019, Wes Barr died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack, leaving family, friends and an entire community in shock at the loss of the former Sangamon County Sherriff and community leader.

Paul Palazzolo & Family
Paul is the Sangamon County Circuit Clerk and a member of the Prairie Heart Foundation Leadership Council. This is what he had to say about their family gift:
“Because of the care Prairie has provided me, and the care someone I love or myself may need one day, I am happy to be a supporter of Prairie Heart. With their access to clinical research trials ahead of anyone else, I know that if the need should ever arise my support will help them to continually bring in the most advanced technologies and treatments.
When I look for an organization to support, I want an organization that can make a positive impact on people’s lives. Prairie has an impact on 173,000 patients and their families each year throughout central and southern Illinois, including 83 out of 102 counties. That is a huge impact! With heart disease as the number one cause of death in Illinois and the country, I am happy to support a pioneering cardiovascular organization that is dedicated to both saving and improving lives right here in our community. Prairie Heart is recognized as a national leader in the innovation and development of new diagnostic and treatment procedures and continues to advance medicine with a very active research program.
If anyone else is interested in helping in the fight against heart disease, I ask them to consider supporting the Prairie Heart Foundation!”
Join us in delivering the best care to our community
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Brandy Grove, MBA, CFRE, Foundation Manager and Senior Gift Officer, at 217-494-1194 (mobile) or brandy.grove@hshs.com.
619 E. Mason St. | Springfield, IL 62701
Foundation Leadership Council
- Larry Hardy
- Paul Palazzolo
- Kristin Doster
- Cesar Coello, MD
- Patrick Murphy, MD
- Lisa Majka
- Theresa Thompson
- Lauren Bainter
- Dane Eggertsen
- Ali Coffey Farmer
Ex-Officio Members
- Brandy Grove, CFRE
- Dan McCormack
*The information contained in this web site is for informational purposes. You should seek advice from your personal legal or tax advisor to determine your individual tax benefits. The Prairie Heart Foundation, a division of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, is a not-for-profit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3); all gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Notice of Nondiscrimination: English
Prairie Cardiovascular is a Physician and APC of cardiovascular health care and treatments in multiple locations throughout central Illinois. Our organization provides the best cardiologists in the state, with renowned surgical precision and professional advice on heart-related concerns. We test and medically treat for all common heart symptoms such as chest pains, hypertension, high blood pressure, murmurs, palpitations, high cholesterol, and disease. We have several locations including major cities such as Decatur, Carbondale, O'Fallon, and Springfield.