By Shawn Reeves

Elissa Clayton’s estate gift to Winship is rooted in gratitude, experience, and a desire to help others.

As a nurse, Elissa Clayton cared for cancer patients for years. Then the disease became personal — when she became a patient. Inspired by her experiences, she made Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University a beneficiary of her estate. The bequest is an expression of gratitude and a vote of confidence from someone who knows firsthand the value of excellent care.

(Elissa Clayton)

After retiring from her job at a cancer center in Tampa, Clayton moved to Roswell, Georgia, to be closer to family. As a patient, she sought a high level of care with a new team of doctors and specialists. She found that kind of care at Winship and Emory Johns Creek Hospital and says the experience has left a lasting impression.

Emory care teams, she says, have helped her continue to enjoy her “golden years.” Despite what she describes as a “slew of health conditions,” Clayton stays active and engaged, taking brisk walks almost daily and doing strength training and yoga several times a week. She also plays mahjong with friends.

“Sometimes I actually win,” she laughs.

Clayton praises her physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and the teams around them. But she also appreciates the smaller touches: prompt responses through the patient portal, the welcoming feel of Emory Johns Creek, and high-quality customer service — from the concierge desk to the gift shop and café. The same has been true at Winship, which offers excellence in medical care and nonclinical support, she says.

In her career, Clayton has seen precisely what that level of excellence requires: highly trained clinicians, strong diagnostic and treatment resources, patient support staff, and clinical research that keeps pushing medicine forward. In her own cancer journey, she has gained a personal understanding of why it’s so important.

A member of Emory’s Patient Family Advisor Program and the 1836 Society — a group of supporters who have included Emory in their estate planning — Clayton says her gift is both a thank-you and an investment in the future of cancer care. For example, if a donor leaves part of a taxable estate to Emory, that charitable bequest can reduce the value of the estate subject to federal estate tax; and if a donor names Emory as the beneficiary of a retirement account, those assets can pass to Emory tax-free rather than going to individual heirs who may owe income tax on them.

She hopes her story might encourage others to give. “No gift is too small if it helps improve care and advance discovery,” she says.

Emory's Advancement & Alumni Engagement team spotlights members of the Emory community who embody the university's mission and honors the supporters whose generosity makes it possible. Know someone we should write about? Tell us.