A new ambulance joined Cascade Medical’s fleet of emergency vehicles this month, thanks to a $150,000 donation from the Cascade Medical Foundation. The ambulance’s long-awaited arrival was marked with a special unveiling for the Foundation.
The rig was inscribed with a dedication:
“Thank you to the Cascade Medical Foundation and its generous supporters for donating this ambulance to our community.”
The Foundation met its fundraising goal in record time with the help of more than 100 community volunteers from Lake Wenatchee, Leavenworth and Peshastin. The two-year effort included several events, including the Leavenworth Golf Classic in June, the Home and Garden Tour in September, and periodic benevolent nights at Icicle Brewing Co. and Watershed.
A new ambulance joined Cascade Medical’s fleet of emergency vehicles this month, thanks to a $150,000 donation from the Cascade Medical Foundation. The ambulance’s long-awaited arrival was marked with a special unveiling for the Foundation. The rig was inscribed with a dedication:
“Thank you to the Cascade Medical Foundation and its generous supporters for donating this ambulance to our community.”
Dozens of charitable donors and businesses supported the campaign with cash, goods and services. Event sponsorships reached all-time high as the project gained momentum.
“This has been the Cascade Medical Foundation’s most successful fundraising project to date,” said Foundation Coordinator Will Maillard. “This success is due to our wonderful sponsors, volunteers, and donors, and our energetic, all-volunteer board. Each of our board members have given an incredible amount of their time and energy.”
Since 1992, the Foundation has purchased over $1 million in medical equipment for the community, including a multi-slice CT scanner, a therapy pool and digital mammography.
Ambulance Director Brian Pulse led a group of Foundation members on a tour celebrating the ambulance in late September. He pointed out a few new features, including LED lights that will last longer and shine brighter, and a specialized air vent that delivers cool or warm air directly on the patient as needed.
Cascade Ambulance maintains five vehicles – three ambulances in Leavenworth, one ambulance at the fire station in Lake Wenatchee and a Chevy Suburban for backcountry roads. Emergency crews respond to about 950 calls a year in Cascade Medical’s 1,200-mile hospital district. From the top of Blewett Pass to the summit of Stevens, these rigs are driven hard. Industry standard recommends that ambulances retire at 100,000 miles. The new ambulance will allow Cascade Medical to retire a 10-year-old rig with about 130,000 miles on it.
“Without these units being replaced on an ongoing basis it can make it difficult to maintain a high level of response for our patients and community,” Pulse said. “The efforts and time the Foundation has put into these projects for the hospital and EMS mean so much to all of us. Your support makes such a positive difference in the lives of our patients.”
The Foundation recently launched a new fundraising effort to upgrade Cascade Medical’s endoscopy suite and purchase an online patient portal system. More details about that campaign will roll out over the next few weeks.