Bob and Jan Archer’s commitment to Ashland has never been abstract. The couple has spent decades supporting institutions that serve Ashland and Ashland County. Their latest investment, a $1 million gift to UH Samaritan Medical Center, continues a focus on local organizations they believe are essential to the community’s vitality.

The Archers prefer to be called communitarians rather than philanthropists. They insist on giving locally and during their lifetimes. “We plan to die broke,” Bob said, laughing.

Their giving focuses on education, civic engagement, the arts and healthcare in Ashland, and they have provided historic support for general operations and specific student programs at Ashland University, where Bob serves on the Board of Trustees and as Executive-in-Residence. Among many other local organizations they have supported are the Ashland Symphony, the Ashland YMCA, the Ashland Theatre, The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center in Ashland, and the United Way of Ashland County. Jan was also instrumental in establishing Leadership Ashland, chairing the organization during its early years.

Jan’s connection to Samaritan Hospital, now UH Samaritan Medical Center, dates to the 1980s. She spent two years at the hospital after working as a government health planner in nearby Wooster. There, she oversaw resource sharing between hospitals during a period marked by regulatory pressure and an emphasis on cost containment; Ashland was one of eight counties in her purview. Hired to Samaritan from her government role by then-CEO Bill Kelley, Jan evaluated the use of hospital resources and conducted feasibility studies.

“I kept saying I found we didn’t need the new things they thought they needed,” she joked.

Kelley saw Jan’s aptitude for relationship-building and  invited her to step into Samaritan’s development director role. As she raised funds for the hospital, she embraced a simple guiding principle: “We care.”

That principle still holds. Bob and Jan’s gift to UH Samaritan Medical Center establishes the UH Samaritan Medical Center Fund for Hospital Operations, with a focus on caregiver recognition and engagement. The fund will support current-use needs that strengthen hospital operations, including employee engagement activities, caregiving events, efforts to recognize high-performing caregivers and pathways for career advancement.

The gift honors several individuals who shaped Samaritan’s history and ethos, including Dick Beal, former president of the Samaritan Hospital Foundation; Bill Kelley and Danny Boggs, former chief executives of Samaritan Hospital; and Sylvia Radziszewski, MBA, RRT, who is the current Chief Operating Officer of UH Samaritan Medical Center. In recognition of the Archers’ generosity, the hospital’s main reception area has been named the Robert M. and Janet L. Archer Lobby.

“What Would We Do Without UH?”

Like many Ashland County residents, the Archers have seen the impact of UH Samaritan firsthand. Local access to care for cardiovascular events can make a lifesaving difference – and even more so when that care comes with the resources and capabilities of the globally trusted UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute. The same can be said of local access to cancer care.

“What would we do without UH here in Ashland?” Jan asked plainly.

Radziszewski emphasized the significance of the Archers’ gift in today’s environment. “Unlike other businesses, healthcare doesn’t have many levers to pull,” she explained. “Expenses rise, reimbursement often falls, and yet the needs of patients and staff continue to grow. Philanthropy gives us flexibility and an ability to invest in our people beyond covering basic costs.”

That investment, she added, is central to UH Samaritan’s identity. The hospital distinguishes itself by the dedication and community-rootedness of its workforce, even maintaining one of the lowest rates of contract labor in the UH system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those contractors, Radziszewski noted, chose to stay as employees.

While the Archers’ gift is deeply local, it reflects a broader reality across UH: the majority of the health system’s patients receive care at community medical centers like UH Samaritan, each committed to serving its region’s unique healthcare needs with the same level of excellence found on UH’s flagship campus.

To learn more about UH Samaritan Medical Center, please visit here.