Fort HealthCare Thanks Local Donors

FORT ATKINSON / WHITEWATER – Fort HealthCare, the Fort Memorial Hospital Emergency Department and the Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation would like to extend sincere gratitude to local individuals and an organization whose donations made it possible to purchase necessary emergency department equipment.

Deb Schumacher, manager of both the Great Expectations Birthing Center and emergency department for Fort HealthCare, states, “We are very mindful of our budgets, and when things are tight, we work with what we have. However, when limited supplies or older equipment hinders our ability to give the best patient care possible, we know we need to do something about that.” Schumacher continues, “We are very grateful to Joel Winn, executive director of the Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation, for helping us garner what we needed. The local donors that have come forward have been so generous, and we are very grateful.”

Winn expresses his gratitude to recent donors as well. “I am always very impressed by the kind hearts and generosity that exist among people in the communities that we serve. We expressed a need, and it was met, which allows us to continue serving the healthcare needs of our friends and neighbors.”

David and Lolita Kachel of Whitewater donated a total of $7,000 to purchase 11 wall-mounted thermometers, a portable blood pressure monitor, and funds to support two educational scholarships for emergency room nurses to pursue advanced certification in providing injury-illness, crisis and trauma care for patients.

Bill and Becky Hulstein donated $2,575 to purchase several slide board slip sheets and a venous fetal Doppler. Harold Wilson, Fort HealthCare’s emergency medical services coordinator, explains, “We use the slide boards to transport patients from an ambulance to a gurnee, or from a gurnee to a hospital bed, and keeping that equipment up to date and readily available in the emergency room is very important. It is a safety issue for both patients and staff, to be able to move patients around comfortably and safely.”

Wilson continues, “The fetal Doppler is a piece of technology that is used to find vascular points and pulse rates for babies – fetal heart rates that can’t be detected in another way. We’ve had the equipment here, but it was getting old.”

Additionally, the Kiwanis donated $1,000 to replace some worn and torn paramedic bags. Wilson adds, “Our paramedics reach out to anyone that needs help in our service area. The bags hold a lot of emergency supplies for the responders to take out on the road to patients.”

Winn adds, “We are always thankful to every individual, business or organization that keeps us in mind with their giving. It allows us to accomplish some great things and provide great care.”

For more information about the Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation, visit www.FortHealthCare.com and explore the “Giving Back” tab on the homepage, or call Joel Winn directly at (920) 568-5404.

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