Medary Acres Greenhouses Helps Grow Funds for a New Ambulance

For the third consecutive year, the Darnall family of Medary Acres Greenhouses is answering an important emergency call: inspiring others to give to Brookings Health System Foundation. As the matching gift sponsor for the Foundation’s South Dakota Day of Giving campaign, Medary Acres Greenhouses hopes to grow funds that will help purchase a new advanced life support ambulance. 

“Our company has always lived by the mantra, ‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow,’” said Lynn Darnall. “We feel the same way about high-quality emergency services that benefit our community everyday through Brookings Health System. If we continue to upgrade our emergency services, we are essentially planting the seeds for our community.”

Brookings Ambulance, which Brookings Health System assumed operations for in 1974, runs five modern ambulances. The team of paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) provide 911 advanced life support (ALS) services for most of Brookings County and also assists other area ambulance services as requested. 

Thanks to Medary Acres Greenhouses and the Darnalls, the first $10,000 given to Brookings Health System Foundation on Dec. 2 will be matched dollar-for-dollar. The Darnalls answered the same call and matched donations for a new ambulance in 2023 and 2024. Brookings Health System Foundation continues to focus fundraising efforts toward the purchase of new ambulance due to the rising costs of emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles and the industry-wide challenges that delay ambulance orders.

“The setbacks are still rooted in the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Brookings Health System Ambulance Director Megan Sinner. “We initially placed our ambulance order in June 2024 with expected arrival date of December 2025. This past spring, we were notified the delivery date was extended to late 2026 to mid 2027.”

Initial ambulance order holdups related to staffing and microchip availability, common economic woes felt in multiple industries during the pandemic. While microchip availability has improved and skilled labor shortages aren’t as extreme, those initial challenges piled up. Currently delays are driven by an increased demand in ambulance orders as EMS agencies across the nation plan to replace aging fleets. Lead times have increased from 18 months to two to three years. EMS agencies, like Brookings Ambulance, are now placing EMS vehicle orders even earlier to help guarantee a replacement for their fleet when existing units reach end-of-life.

“Our vehicles go through a lot of wear and tear when responding to calls, whether those are 911 emergencies or transferring patients to a higher level of care to a different facility,” said Sinner. “Maintaining our fleet is crucial to avoid critical failures that could impact a patient’s life.”

When supply stays the same and demand rises, cost rises, too. From 2022 to 2024 alone, ambulance prices increased by 50%. In addition to increased EMS vehicle demand, other factors that have amplified costs include inflation; rising material costs for items such as chassis, aluminum and medical technology; and increased labor expenses. 

“We’re asking 500 people to each donate $20 for this year’s South Dakota Day of Giving campaign,” said Brookings Health System Foundation Director Brittany Venekamp. “That plus Medary Acres Greenhouses' match, our 2025 gift stretcher from Dick and Patti Stolp and the combined funds we’ve raised for the past three years will put us on target to offset the increased cost for the new ambulance.”

“Every gift matters,” Darnall adds, “so please join us in this important project.”

When the new ambulance arrives, it will enable Brookings Health’s EMS team to continue delivering critical, life-saving care to residents throughout our region thanks to community generosity. 

Individuals interested in answering the Darnall family’s challenge can give to the campaign online at brookingshealth.org/SDGives. Donations are accepted anytime between now and Dec. 2, the South Dakota Day of Giving. 

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, municipal health system that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.

About Brookings Health System Foundation

The mission of Brookings Health System Foundation is “Inspiring people to support Brookings Health System through philanthropy, recognizing the vital role of local healthcare in sustaining quality of life in our community.” Gifts to the Foundation support charity health care for those less fortunate, health and wellness education, facility, equipment, and technology upgrades and other needs as they arise at Brookings Health System. For more information about Brookings Health System Foundation or how you may contribute, please contact Foundation Director Brittany Venekamp at (605) 696-8045 or foundation@brookingshealth.org.