Funding Goal for Project Heartbeat Met

The $300,000 needed by Sheridan Memorial Hospital for new equipment for the hospital’s cardiac department has been raised.

Hospital CEO Mike McCafferty said the fundraising effort, called Project Heartbeat, focused on two main pieces of equipment – IntraSight 5, which helps identify blockages in blood vessels, and two intra-aortic balloon pumps that move blood through the body of a heart patient, buying time for transportation and surgery.

Cody Sinclair, who’s the hospital’s chief development officer, said the new equipment could be in service by later this winter or early spring. He said the hospital is coordinating with the cath lab to order the equipment.

A $150,000 challenge grant from the William F. and Lorene Welch Foundation kicked off the fundraising campaign, and Sinclair said that gift came in a really timely manner.

Project Heartbeat also received a boost from the Sheridan Memorial Hospital Foundation’s employee partners, who selected the cardiac equipment as a recipient of their contributions to the foundation last year.

Sinclair said there are over 500 employee partners.