There are many good reasons why Amy Kalishman was drawn to the board of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital with her longest-running inspiration dating back to her childhood.
The daughter of a physician, Amy grew up in a medical environment and developed an interest in health care at an early age. That led her to pursue a legal career specializing in medical malpractice defense law and risk management.
“I’ve always loved to see the interplay between law and medicine and how they can work together to improve health care and outcomes for patients,” she says. “It’s always been something that interested me both professionally and personally.”
For the last 18 years she has served as the liability manager for Femwell Group Health, Florida’s leading Management Services Organization for physicians and mid-level providers. She works remotely for Femwell from St. Louis, where she lives with her husband, Jim, and their three children.
But Amy’s interest in the board goes beyond her professional life. She and her family have strong ties to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine physicians.
“We’re so lucky to have Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in our backyard. It is a world-class medical center,” she says. “Even my dad, who is a Florida physician and could go anywhere, has had three surgeries at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. I think that speaks volumes.”
As a result, Amy wanted to give back to the hospital, and serving on the board gives her that opportunity.
“I was so amazed by the mission of the board and how it collaborates with other agencies in St. Louis to help try to solve health care inequities in our society,” she says. “That’s something I’m personally very passionate about. I see the problem with access to health care and I really want to be part of the solution.”
As a new board member, Amy currently serves on the philanthropy committee and hopes one day to join the stewardship committee so that she can participate in the grant making process.
“I love the ability of the Foundation to support other local health care agencies that have aligned interests,” she says. “Ultimately, if our preventative programs for high-risk and underserved communities can reduce the number of people who need help at Barnes-Jewish, it’s just a win-win for everybody.”