Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation President Jack Southworth auctions off items during the annual fundraiser dinner in 2017, with Blue Mountain Hospital District CEO Derek Daly in the background.

The Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation is a local non-profit organization that plays a crucial role in keeping Blue Mountain Hospital one of the most modern rural hospitals in Oregon. Community financial support through the foundation means residents continue to get top-level care close to home. The foundation is a separate tax-exempt entity, governed by a volunteer board. All donations to the foundation are tax deductible.

People can support the foundation in multiple ways:

• Join the foundation

Annual memberships provide ongoing financial support. Membership dues are pooled to allow the hospital to update equipment and provide services that otherwise would be limited. Membership levels are:

• Individual: $25

• Couples: $50

• Businesses: $50

• Lifetime individual: $500

• Support special funds

Helping Hand Fund supports special community programs, Legacy Fund builds an endowment for the future and the Care Center Fund provides crucial support for the Prairie City facility.

• Play in the annual golf scramble

Saturday, July 28: 18-hole scramble with teams of four. A fun-filled day of golfing for a good cause.

• Attend the annual benefit dinner

Held in the fall, the foundation’s dinner and auction is one of the premier social events in Grant County. Join in the lively bidding for scores of auction items, knowing your winning bid puts more money into hospital equipment and programs.

• Donate

Mail a donation to Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation, 170 Ford Road, John Day, OR 97845.

Foundation-supported purchases in recent years included a new ambulance, a pediatric stretcher crib, cardiac monitoring equipment, a nurse call system for the care center, portable X-ray equipment, a mammography unit, a bone density machine and an automated medication cabinet.

For more information, contact Foundation Director Jena Knowles, 541-575-1311, ext. 2213, or jknowles@bluemountainhospital.org.