Hospital Celebrates ‘Heartbeat’ Success

The Sheridan Memorial Hospital Foundation celebrated the success of the recent Project Heartbeat campaign with a coffee-and-cinnamon rolls breakfast in the hospital cafeteria Tuesday.

Jasmine Slater, who’s the foundation’s development coordinator, said the campaign goal of $300,000 was not only met but exceeded.

Dubbed Project Heartbeat, the campaign was to raise funds to buy two new pieces of equipment for Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s cath lab. The IntraSight 5 allows cardiologists to see pictures of the heart that aren’t well seen by other methods, and the Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump helps the heart pump more blood and supports a regular rhythm.

In addition, the pump converts to a mobile unit that can fit in a helicopter for patient transport if needed.

The campaign was kicked off by a $150,000 challenge gift from the William F. and Lorene W. Welch Foundation. Slater said the remaining $150,000 was raised before the end of the year, then additional donations came in after that to push the fundraising effort over the top.

She said the project will be re-evaluated to make sure all costs for the new equipment are covered, then the hospital will talk to the donors about using the additional funds for upcoming cardiac care projects.

Slater said the additional equipment is now being ordered. She said some training will be needed when the new equipment arrives, and the hope is that the new equipment will be up and in use by spring.