Residents around the county have been receiving letters since November seeking support for Ashe Memorial Hospital Foundation’s 18th annual campaign. Donations go toward projects chosen annually to enhance the hospital and its services.

Chief Operating Officer Joe Thore described the selected projects for next year. Ideas are submitted by departments and chosen by the Foundation board. The goal for next year is to raise $158,000 for the following projects:

• Complete shell space for the mammography suite that will include mammography room, office space and dressing rooms

• New patient monitors for the emergency department

• Replace and upgrade equipment at Mountain Hearts Center for Prevention and Wellness, such as the Nautilus machine

• Purchase equipment for the dietary department such as a blast chiller and air curtain refrigerator

• Purchase equipment for the laboratory, such as two microscopes, two urine analyzers, and 1 stat spin centrifuge

• Purchase 12 flat screen television sets for patient rooms and 2 for the emergency department waiting room

“The hospital continues to struggle financially, and that is what is great about the Foundation,” said Thore. “The Foundation can step in and help the hospital with needs that aren’t available within the hospital budget.”

Local residents will receive their appeal letters in the mail with descriptions of the Foundation projects and request for support. You can mail in a donation, or contact Thore at 846-7101 for more information.

The hospital has undertaken a multimillion dollar project to construct a permanent MRI suite on campus. Patients are currently served by a mobile MRI unit that visits the hospital several times a week, but the new space will allow for full-time service.

While the hospital is borrowing the money to build the suite, funds to help staff it are coming from a $36,000 grant award through Rural Hope, a rural health care initiative designed to enable better health care delivery and job creation by assisting in the construction and expansion of rural health care facilities. This is the first phase of grant awards from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, the Golden LEAF Foundation, and the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund. Another phase was to begin with applications submitted in December.

In a recent press release, Gov. Bev Perdue said, “In many areas of our state, rural hospitals and health care facilities work on tight budgets to serve their communities. Rural Hope will ease the burden by bringing health care and jobs to rural communities across North Carolina. I commend the North Carolina Rural Center, the Golden Leaf Foundation and the Health and Wellness Trust Fund for working together to support this initiative and making sure our citizens receive the help they need.”

Part of the new MRI suite will include shell space for the mammography department, which will hopefully be completed through the Foundation campaign for 2010 so the mammography department can eventually be moved into the new area along with other aspects of the hospital’s imaging department. The road behind the hospital has been closed at times during this renovation.