FMC donates to hospital foundation

The Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County Foundation received a special donation from a local mine at a meeting last week.

FMC employees Fred von Ahrens and Dave Caplan addressed the board and then presented them with a check for $25,000.

von Ahrens, who is FMC’s alkali chemical division manufacturing director, applauded the foundation for the lives and patients that have been touched through donations. He also expressed his appreciation to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County for partnering with FMC on their annual employee health and wellness fair and for engaging in the well-being of his staff.

“FMC believes that our mission as a community partner is to contribute to the quality of life here in Sweetwater County. I have seen personally the lives touched by the foundation from the smallest gestures of patient assistance to the securing of grants that have brought in state-of-the-art equipment for the hospital,” von Ahrens said. “FMC wanted to show our support for the foundation’s mission of advancing healthcare in this region and we encourage other local corporations to get involved.”

Board chair Al Harris said the generous contribution from a corporate leader like FMC is a stamp of confidence for the foundation.

“I speak for all of us when I extend my gratitude to the leadership and staff of FMC for believing in their local health community,” Harris said.

“In just a few years we have seen some great progress and we also have a lot to look forward to. Also, with the hiring of our new Director we will be able to open new doors with a new set of eyes.”

OTHER DONATIONS

The foundation has received some major donations over the past several years including one from the The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

This donation helped establish a new digital mammography suite in 2011 and then the purchase of a new linear accelerator, used to provide the radiation treatment in the new regional cancer center.

They also conducted their first Red Tie Gala in February. At the event over $85,000 was raised to benefit a cancer fund that the foundation has set up.