Deceased 02/07/2017
Frances M. Hoffman, passed away on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 after experiencing a health crisis. Frances was born on May 7, 1915 in Sac City, Iowa, the second child of Frank and Margaret Hoffman.
She graduated valedictorian of her class at Mason City High School in 1969. She graduated from Carleton College cum laude in 1973 and returned to Mason City to work as a bank teller and loan officer for a local savings and loan company. She returned to school and earned her master’s degrees from the University of Iowa, a Masters of Arts in Teaching in 1978, and a Master’s of Arts in Hospital Administration in 1985.
She remained in Iowa City and worked as the director of Administrative Services for the University Hospitals and Clinics until 1990, when she moved back to Mason City and was the Director of Planning for Mercy Hospital until 1992. She was then asked to move to Hampton as the CEO of the Hampton General Hospital, where she stayed until 1995. She returned to Mason City again to help care for her mother and worked for the North Iowa Mercy Health Center as the Continuous Quality Improvement Coordinator and the Director of Administrative Support Services. From 1995 to 2005, she was the Executive Director of Hospice of North Iowa, where she developed the Support Treatment Assistance Resource (STAR) Care program for the elderly and their caregivers. Frances became a consultant where she wrote grants for a number of entities totaling over 2 million dollars. She administered one of these grants which worked with providing preventive education to women at risk for type 2 diabetes.
During her adult life, she testified before congressional subcommittees concerning the effects of Medicare reductions on small rural hospitals in 1993 and the barriers to end-of-life care in 2001. She was appointed to the AHA national Committee on Governance to provide guidance to AHA activities from 1994 through 1998. She served as the chair of the Northern Lights Alliance for the Homeless and led efforts to develop funding for a new shelter for homeless men. She coordinated Mercy Hospital’s Strategic Initiative for the Poor grants to community organizations and agencies. Frances assisted the Studio of the Performing Arts to become a non-profit organization. She served on the board of the Francis Lauer Youth Services and was chair in 1999. She served on the board for Habitat for Humanity of North Central Iowa where she led the development of the first strategic, plan, formalized policies and procedures, and the hiring process for the first Executive Director. Frances was an international consultant to the LBJ Tropical Medical Center in American Samoa in 1997 and 1998. She published three books on the subject of Nursing and had 12 articles published in various publications. She was awarded the Journal of Nursing Administration Book of the Year Award in 1984. In 2005, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by Mason City High School for her work with Mercy Hospital, Hospice, and as an advocate for the homeless, infirm, and needy.
Since her retirement, she has worked as a DJ for KCMR as well as training and scheduling the readers for the blind. She started a book club for the residents of the IOOF home, and she is still chairman of the board for the homeless shelter. She volunteered at the food pantry, and cared for her mother on a daily basis until her mother’s death on January 11, 2017. She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her special friend, Steve McMahon, three siblings, David (Kathy) Hoffman of Wichita, Kansas, Gary (Carole) Hoffman of Mason City, and Mary (Rick) Hurlbut of Marion, Iowa. She is also survived by nine nieces and nephews and 11 great-nephews and great nieces with one on the way.
Comments
Frances was known by her Carleton friends for her loving heart and generous spirit. After Carleton she gave unstintingly of herself to her community in so many ways, even in the midst of her professional work in health care administration. Her loss is still felt by many.