In February of 2021, the Orleans Community Health Foundation launched the “Together We Are Stronger” fundraising campaign in hopes to raise nearly $300,000 that would benefit eight (8) different departments throughout Orleans Community Health (OCH). In the second half of the year, OCH was able to secure funding for a few of the projects which lowered the goal for the Foundation. By the end of 2021 the Foundation raised just over $183,000 through special events, individual contributions and local grant support.
We started off by receiving a generous $40,000 grant from the Lyndonville Area Foundation to purchase a new coagulation analyzer for our main lab which performs over 210,000 tests annually. Additionally, we received a total of $11,000 in grants from Heritage Wind and the Elisabeth Dye Curtis Foundation that provided new countertops and phlebotomy chairs for our outpatient labs in Medina Memorial Hospital and at our Middleport location.
In May we presented a list of projects to the MMH Twigs and they chose to purchase a new convection oven for the Nutritional Services department at OCH. Their support contributed nearly $7,000 towards our campaign and is helping our kitchen to continue to provide warm meals for those we feed. Then in June we kicked off our event season with our annual Golf Outing at Shelridge Country Club. The event had a net profit of over $24,000 with the proceeds dedicated to our Radiology Department. With these funds, they were able to purchase a new ceiling unit that supports our x-ray equipment and a new AB1 probe for our Ultrasound units. Our Mega Drawing and Treasure Island events had a combined net proceeds of nearly $46,000 that were split between our Cardiac Services and Patient Care departments to purchase a new stress test system and patient lifts.
In addition to the campaign, the Foundation also receives memorial donations that support a variety of departments throughout the organization. A large majority of those donations are designated to our North Wing Activities program which provides entertainment and stimulating activities for our residents in the 30-bed Long Term Care facility. This year, they used an estimated $5,700 of these contributions to do just that. Also, the Foundation recently established a “Future Needs Fund” which is a pool of contributions donated to the hospital but without a specific designation. Through this fund our board was able to purchase a new calibration device for our Nuclear Testing unit. The idea behind the “Future Needs Fund” is to support unplanned capital expenses or much needed equipment repairs that come up throughout the year. Since we began this fund we have primarily repaired OR scopes and supplemented other projects where needed.
Lastly, The staff at Orleans Community Health really stepped up to the plate and generously contributed over $8,500 through the renewed Employee Giving Program. Through the years staff have had the opportunity to make pledges that support campaigns for various projects and have raised well over $108,000 for all of them combined. Staff are some of our biggest supporters not only through this program, but also as event volunteers and participants. They really help us extend our reach which in turns allows us to reach our goals.
Thank you to all of our donors for your generous contributions throughout 2021. During these times we were unsure if we would be able to meet our goals and of course, we should have known better. It is because of your love and support of this community that we can continue to make the improvements that OCH wishes to makes each and every year.
As always, it is the Foundations mission to support the needs of Orleans Community Health who strives to provide quality healthcare services that meet the direct needs of our community in a safe and comfortable setting as quickly as possible without having to travel long distances for care. If you would like to support the Orleans Community Health Foundation through a donation today or a planned gift, please visit our giving page.