In preparation for the recent opening of WCA Hospital's new Emergency Department, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation once again displayed its commitment to the community with a $91,640 grant to underwrite the purchase of fifth-wheel stretchers.
Of the 20 new stretchers, two are weigh beds specifically designed for the trauma/resuscitation rooms and two are uniquely designed to accommodate bariatric patients.
"From the beginning of WCA's critical capital campaign effort, our board of directors took on a leadership role to ensure its success," says Barclay Wellman, chair of the Sheldon Foundation board. "As we saw this dream becoming a reality, we wanted to ensure the new Emergency Department was ideally equipped to best serve the patients of our community."
Article Photos
Barclay Wellman, chair of the Ralph C. Sheldon board of directors; and Linda Swanson, executive director of the Sheldon Foundation; join Brenda Ireland, WCA Hospital board chair; and Betsy Wright, WCA Hospital president and chief executive officer, inside one of the trauma/resuscitation rooms within WCA Hospital’s new Emergency Department with one of the stretchers purchased through the Sheldon Foundation’s most recent grant.
Submitted photo
In 2008, the Sheldon Foundation made a $2 million lead grant to support the construction of WCA Hospital's new Emergency Department. The board also wanted to make a statement by challenging the physicians and leadership of WCA Hospital to meet a $500,000 matching challenge grant, which it did in December 2009 when Sharing the Gift of Health: The Capital Campaign for Our Emergency Department was publicly launched.
"The Sheldon Foundation Board believed the single most important capital project for Jamestown and the surrounding communities was the construction of a new Emergency Department," remembers Linda Swanson, executive director for the Sheldon Foundation. "The board took it upon itself to make a stretch grant during some very uncertain economic times, but also wanted to share in this financial challenge with the leadership of WCA who proved their personal commitment to the project."
The Sheldon Foundation was established in 1948, by Isabella Marvin Sheldon, in memory of her husband, Ralph C. Sheldon, a Jamestown businessman. Its mission is to continue the legacy of the Sheldon family through perpetuation of philanthropy. The Sheldon Foundation devotes financial assistance to advance the physical, educational, and cultural well-being of the people in the southerly portion of Chautauqua County. For more information, visit www.rcsheldonfoundation.org.
"I couldn't be more thankful to the Sheldon Foundation for their incredible support or our capital campaign," says Betsy Wright, WCA Hospital president and chief executive officer. "We would not be celebrating the opening of our 21st-century Emergency Department this year if it wasn't for their vision for our community and their commitment to our community hospital."
WCA Hospital's 21st-century Emergency Department is now open. With advances in space and privacy, this 18,000-square-foot Emergency Department will dramatically improve the overall patient experience. To date, WCA has surpassed the 88 percent mark by securing more than $14.5 million toward the $16.5 million capital campaign goal and is accepting gifts and pledges payable through 2013. To make a gift to support Sharing the Gift of Health: The Capital Campaign for Our Emergency Department, contact Karl Sisson at 664-8423 or visit www.wcahospital.org.
"We are extremely grateful to the Sheldon Foundation who enabled our capital campaign to be such a success," said Brenda Ireland, WCA Hospital board chair. "Because of their firm commitment, and the exceptional generosity of our entire community, great days lie ahead for WCA as we now welcome patients through the new front door of health care."