Salem Health – 05/12/20 2:48 PM
PacificSource has recently given a charitable gift of $250,000 to Salem Health Foundation. This generous contribution raises foundation capacity to provide Salem Health medical providers with tools necessary to stay safe while caring for the most critically ill patients across the mid-valley.
The Salem Health Foundation board of directors already put these funds to use, acquiring additional air-purifying respirators called CAPR and PAPR hoods. Frontline health care workers use this advanced equipment when providing close contact care where it protects them from contracting COVID-19 and other airborne diseases. This allows caregivers to feel safe and confident to treat patients who are most vulnerable and in need.
This gift will also enable the purchase of additional life-saving ventilators. Used by clinicians to help treat critically ill coronavirus patients, ventilators are essential tools that offer some patients their best chance of survival.
“We are so grateful to PacificSource for this immense support,” said Salem Health Foundation Board President Alex Casebeer. “For us, no patient harm is acceptable and this gift will help us make good on that hallmark principle of medicine.”
“It is vitally important that our frontline medical workers have the tools they need to stay safe and healthy,” said Dan Stevens, executive vice president and Oregon regional director for PacificSource. “We commend their tireless efforts in helping our communities get the care they need during this challenging time.”
For others interested in supporting COVID-19 relief efforts, gifts can be made online at salemhealth.org/donate, or by calling Salem Health Foundation at 503-814-1990.
Salem Health Foundation was established in 1968 by a group of Salem residents interested in advancing health care through donations. It is a charitable, tax-exempt organization that supports medical and medically related projects of Salem Health. The foundation’s 12 volunteer directors help raise funds and manage the resources of the foundation, while distributing the funds according to the wishes of those who have given.
PacificSource is an independent, not-for-profit community health plan serving the northwest. Founded in 1933, PacificSource has local offices in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. The PacificSource family of companies employs more than 1400 people, serves more than 500,000 individuals, and has 3,900 employer clients throughout the northwest. For more information visit PacificSource.com.