Photo courtesy of the Union County Health Care Foundation Union County Health Care Foundation Executive Director Katherine Childers and board members Dr. John Baarcke, Pete Berry, and William Jeter present Union Hospital District CEO Paul Newhouse and CFO Cindy Gault with a check for $23,333.55. The check, which was presented during the "Cocktails for a Cause" fundraiser held by the foundation at Nicholson Mansion earlier this month, was the final payment on the district's new cardiovascular stress testing system.

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Charles Warner

Editor

UNION — An evening of food, fellowship and cocktails was the venue for the Union Hospital District to receive a check for $23,333.55 from the Union County Health Care Foundation.

Katherine Childers, foundation executive director, announced Monday that the foundation’s two-year effort to raise funds for the new cardiovascular stress testing system for Wallace Thomson Hospital’s Cardiopulmonary Services Department had reached a successful conclusion earlier this month.

“On May 5, the foundation had a cocktail party at the Nicholson Mansion,” Childers said. “It was called ‘Cocktails for a Cause,’ a black tie optional evening of food and socializing. During the event we presented a check to Wallace Thomson Hospital for $23,333.55 that completed our project at hand. It was for the purchase of the cardiovascular stress testing system that’s in the hospital’s cardiopulmonary services department.”

Childers said the check presented during Cocktails for a Cause was the second and final payment on the system which cost $46,667.10.

“We paid for half of its this last year,” Childers said. “We’ve been holding fundraiser for it for the past two years. We’ve raised money through the events we’ve had like Shag Night, a previous Cocktails for a Cause, our annual golf tournament, Christmas tour of homes, and through donations from businesses and individuals.

“What an honor it is for the Health Care Foundation to be able to present this find check to Wallace Thomson Hospital for their stress testing system for the cardiopulmonary services department,” she said. “Also, at this even we had three doctors who helped underwrite the cost of this event. A big thank you goes to Dr. Harold P. Hope Jr., Dr. Anthony Daws, and Dr. Henry Jordan.”

Founded in 1993, the purpose of the foundation is to raise funds through charitable donations and fund raising events that are then applied to health care needs of the people of Union County. In addition to the cardiovascular stress testing system, the foundation has raise funds for medical equipment and other improvements at Wallace Thomson Hospital including a fetal heart monitor for the Obstetrics Department; renovations to the triage area of the emergency room; new equipment for the Intensive Care Unit; and $1 million for the construction of the new Outpatient Surgery Center.

At Ellen Sagar Nursing Home, the foundation has funded a new wide screen TV; part of the new aviary for pet therapy; and new awnings and renovations to the dining facility at Switzer Residential Care. For the Union County EMS, the foundation has funded a rescue truck and a STEMI Data Transfer System.

Childers added that its partnership with American Home Patient, a home medical supply and equipment company, the foundations pay for its administrative costs. This enables it to use 100 percent of the funds it raises to help the hospital district meet the health care needs of the people of Union County.

Next Fundraiser

With the successful conclusion of it fund raising efforts for the cardiovascular stress testing system, Childers said the foundation will next consult with Union Hospital District CEO Paul Newhouse about what should the goal of its future fund raising efforts.

“What we will do is at our next meeting is our CEO will present to our board what he thinks would be the best project for us to fund next,” Childer said. “Our next fundraiser will be our Fall Charity Golf Classic on October 4.”

Volunteers

Childers also announced that the Wallace Thomson Hospital Volunteers will be holding a fund raising event of their own this week.

“The volunteers will hold a book and gift sale in the lobby on Thursday and Friday,” Childers said. “They will be selling books, cookbooks, music collections, children’s educational items, and novelties. They use the money they raise to help purchase equipment for the hospital.”

The book and gift sale will be held from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday.

In the past, the volunteers have used the funds they’ve raised to purchase blanket warmers, wheelchairs; Dinamaps, which is the machine they use to take temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen level; walkie-talkies for surgery, and the golf cart that is used to take patients and visitors to and from their cars in the hospital parking lot.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@civitasmedia.com.