By Lois Thomson, South Florida Hospital News, for ACHE of South Florida

In an interesting turn of events, a television show started Laura Denoux on her career path in healthcare. Denoux, vice president & chief development officer at Holy Cross Health – a member of Trinity Health – had previously worked in sales and marketing for leading global companies in the technology and beauty sectors. That was until she became a contestant on the NBC reality TV show, “The Biggest Loser.”

“I was a contestant from 2008 to 2009,” she said. “When I went on the show and lost a significant amount of weight, I said, ‘I’m not going back to my old ways and old habits.’ I wanted to change my life and work in the health and wellness industry.”

The opportunity came when a friend who worked at the American Heart Association was transferring from the Miami to the New York office. She said they were looking for a sales and marketing leader with a passion for improving the health and well-being of the community, and told Denoux she thought she’d be a great fit for the role. “Sure enough I applied and that’s how I started in healthcare.” Denoux spent almost four years there as director of development, then more than 10 years at Baptist Health South Florida as director of development and corporate partnerships, and now nearly two years at Holy Cross Health.

Denoux said her responsibilities at Holy Cross Health include “the operational and strategic leadership of the health system’s fundraising efforts; campaigns; donor engagement; principal, major, annual, and planned giving; corporate partnerships; events; board engagement; concierge services; grateful patient and clinician fundraising programs; fund management; staff recruitment and development; and community relations.” In addition, she serves as a philanthropy leadership council member, working with peers at other hospitals to roll out new programs, procedures, and best practices so that all of Trinity Health is working cohesively on fundraising efforts.

Denoux is grateful for her transition to healthcare, stating, “I have the privilege of contributing to people’s well-being and supporting the community in improving their health. Every day brings new challenges, and no two days are ever the same.”

In addition to helping the community, Denoux is interested in encouraging other philanthropy leaders to become involved with ACHE – American College of Healthcare Executives – as she herself did several months ago. Her reason for joining was that as part of an executive leadership team and being surrounded by healthcare administrators, “I felt if I’m really going to help set the strategic priorities and be part of the decision-making of the hospital – I needed to have a deeper understanding of the healthcare industry overall.”

Her intent was to “learn more so that I could bring that experience to my day-to-day work in philanthropy, and also be able to further the mission and help support my colleagues at the executive level.” Now, after attending various ACHE events and meeting other members, she said she is getting more exposure to healthcare leaders and learning ways to overcome challenges in healthcare. “It definitely has been an exciting opportunity for me.”

Since joining ACHE, however, Denoux has discovered that few development and philanthropy leaders are involved with the organization, and she would like to urge others to join. In emphasizing the importance, she explained that Holy Cross is currently engaged in several large capital projects. “We’re going to be building a new CT for our emergency department and a new family health center, in addition to renovating the whole outpatient rehabilitation center at the hospital. All of these capital projects will be funded 100 percent by philanthropy.”

She continued, “Many assume that joining ACHE is only for healthcare executives or administrators, but I see it as a valuable opportunity for anyone in the industry, regardless of their position,” Denoux said. “I encourage those who are passionate about healthcare, even at a junior level, to get involved with ACHE. It’s an excellent platform for networking and learning, especially for young professionals.”