Valero Gives $25,000 Grant to Lifesavers Campaign
- March 20, 2019
Brookings Health System Foundation received a $25,000 grant from the Valero Energy Foundation in support of the new Ambulance Station and Education Center which recently opened along Yorkshire Drive.
The mission of the Valero Energy Foundation (VEF) is to collaborate with non-profit partners across the United States to foster improved quality of life and create measurable impact where unmet needs exist in communities. In support of this mission, VEF makes investments in four strategic pillars, including health care, and specifically seeks opportunities to support the development of strategic community health resources and services, such as the Ambulance Station and Education Center, that will serve the current and long-term needs of each community.
“Thank-you to the employees of the Valero Aurora Ethanol Plant for their generous support and to the Valero Energy Foundation for their financial investment in this critical project,” said Foundation Director Sara Schneider. “Their contributions not only help support our ambulance service’s new operational headquarters, but also helps increase team efficiency and response times which means everything in a medical emergency.”
To help open the new Ambulance Station and Education Center, Brookings Health System Foundation launched the Support Our Lifesavers capital fundraising campaign last September.
The new station location is strategically placed to service the majority of call volume for both the city and county while maintaining strong access to respond to other advanced life support calls throughout the local area. It also places the ambulance service in close proximity to Brookings Hospital and the ER. It houses all four advanced life support vehicles, the mass casualty vehicle and the mobile first-aid station trailer under the same roof as staff offices and living quarters.
The new station also enables the ambulance service to attend to the growing needs of the community. In 2017, Brookings Health System’s ambulance service made over 2,285 calls, a 40% increase in call volume since 2009.
Community members or businesses interested in supporting health care within our community can learn more online at www.brookingshealth.org/Foundation or may contact Schneider directly at (605) 696-8855 or email foundation@brookingshealth.org.
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, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility 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 Sara Schneider at (605) 696-8855 or foundation@brookingshealth.org.