Foundation Gala

April 2007 is a time for new beginnings

Maya Angelou told us (paraphrased) that “On the pulse of morning, each new hour holds new chances for new beginnings…The horizon leans forward, offering us space to place new steps of change. Here on the pulse of this fine day, you may have the courage to look up and out upon the world and see the Rock, the River, the Tree, your country. Each new day, you may have the grace to look up and out...and say simply, very simply, with hope, ‘Good morning.’”

One event this month marks important stops along our community’s journey to new beginnings and good health

At the end of the month, we’ll gather at the Art and Music Gala held by the Prineville Hospital Foundation (PHF), the organization whose sole mission is to raise funds to help the hospital with capital purchases. April 28 is the date, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Meadow Lakes Golf Club and Restaurant.

This year the theme is “The flowers of tomorrow are the seeds of today.” Very appropriate. PHF Executive Director Gillian Burton informs us that she and her board have set a high goal of raising $130,000. “Grow with us,” she invites.

Recent Gala events have raised money to help the hospital purchase big ticket items, and the list of these is long:

* In the laboratory – the gel method blood analyzer and a new refrigerator for the blood bank, and a plasma freezer.

* New equipment in the Radiology such as the digital x-ray machine (fluouroscope), digital mammogram machine, the Picture Archiving and Communication System now makes a change of name to “Imaging Department” a possibility.

* New equipment for surgeries include a micro-driver tool kit for orthopedic procedures and a new anesthesia delivery machine with more complex consciousness monitoring.

* Defibrillators, not just in the hospital, but out in the community.

* Blue-tooth wireless capable machines in the Emergency Department – Emergency Medical teams can send heart telemetry readings before they reach the hospital. Doctors will know more about the patient’s condition and can prepare in advance for arrival and treatments.

* Rooms have been remodeled – here not only with Foundation funding, but also with the help of many community groups and our own caregiving staff.

“One never knows what changes tomorrow will bring to the field of medicine,” Burton observes. “Now more than ever, it is important to reach within and help.”

“The Gala is the most important fund raising event of the hear for the Foundation,” reveals John Boylen, a PHF Board member for three years. “It is when the citizens of the community get together to have a fun time and support the hospital by helping the foundation fund the tools necessary to provide high quality healthcare to Prineville and Crook County.”

Mary Thurman, Prineville Hospital Foundation Board member for 12 years, echoes this view, “No matter what happens with the operational aspects of the hospital, this community owns the bricks and mortar. It’s our hospital, and it is just so critical that people realize this.

“Even if people are unable to come to the Gala,” she continues, “they can still make donations to the Foundation’s ‘Fund An Item’ list ahead of time, and that money will be counted. Donations may be made at the hospital, or look for a new “giving tree” at Tazo’s.

“It is important that we all continue to respect and support Pioneer Memorial Hospital.  We need to continue to keep our facility updated, and to buy the equipment that it needs to go into the future together,” Thurman adds.

Items up for bid at the Gala will include a long weekend at a private residence in Big Summit Prairie for two-to-six people, fully catered; a fly fishing trip down the Deschutes River with a Dutch oven dinner to follow; framed photographs by renowned Central Oregon photographer Bruce Jackson, Loren Irving art and a three – day Napa Valley wine country tour.

Among the items the Foundation has placed on its list to fund this year are a neonatal warmer, newborn hearing screener, a bladder scanner and patient care beds.

Contact the Foundation office at 447-2513 for reservations and more details.