Without a doubt, FirstHealth of the Carolinas’ commitment to caring for people reaches far into the community—and FirstHealth’s neighbors are just as enthusiastic about giving back.

The individuals, businesses and organizations that support the FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital Foundation are actively involved in ensuring that the hospital will continue to serve area families for generations to come.

Just ask Debbie Quick.

In addition to her busy job as human resources manager for UCO Fabrics in Rockingham, Quick volunteers her talents and time as chairwoman of the RMH Foundation Board of Trustees. Her family has experienced firsthand how the community’s ongoing support enables FirstHealth to provide patients with the latest advances in technology and treatment.

“Recently, my husband had a heart attack, and we had to visit Richmond Memorial’s Emergency Department on a Sunday,” Quick says. “I was very thankful for the urgent care he received from the ED physician on duty that day and also the staff in the HeartFirst Center at Moore Regional Hospital, where my husband was transferred for a cardiac catheterization and, later, cardiac rehabilitation. The care my husband received made all the difference in how well he is doing today.”

In fall 2003, Richmond Memorial Hospital completed a $5 million emergency department modernization and expansion project. Capital-improvement funds raised by the hospital’s Foundation offset much of the project’s construction and new equipment costs.

“Donor support drives the Foundation,” says John Jackson, president of FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital. “It is absolutely the critical part of the organization, and we’re fortunate to have an engaged community and generous donors who feel ownership in our organization.”

Recognizing a critical need for specialized women’s health services, the Foundation’s fundraising initiatives helped Richmond Memorial open a Women’s Imaging Center in January 2005. In addition to ultrasound and bone-density testing, the center features advanced mammography equipment with computer-aided detection capabilities to help doctors detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable, stages.

“FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital is evolving to meet the growing health care needs of our community,” says Jackson. “We consider our foundation an essential partner in this growth and our mission to provide quality care.”

In addition to the ED expansion and Women’s Imaging Center, the RMH Foundation helped fund the purchase of a $1.25 million 16-slice CT scanner, specialized surgical equipment, renovations on the nursing units and aesthetic upgrades throughout the hospital.

According to board member Ken Goodman, money raised by the RMH Foundation supports much more than capital equipment and facility upgrades.

“There’s a definite balance of hospital-based and community-based priorities,” he says. “The Richmond CARE (Clinical Advocacy Research and Education) Fund is an excellent example of the Foundation’s community outreach work.”

“About three years ago, we formed the Richmond CARE Fund for low-income patients who cannot afford medications or medical equipment they need after being discharged from the hospital,” says Quick. “We don’t want people going home worrying that they cannot afford a walker or a glucose monitor.”

The RMH Foundation also has partnered with the SAFE KIDS Coalition of Richmond County to provide a free car seat to new mothers who cannot afford one on their own.

“For those who do not have the means, we will buy them a car seat so they can take their infant home in a safe, proper car seat,” says Jackson.

An innovative, popular program is the RMH Foundation’s annual Women’s Series.

“We open the hospital’s auditoriums and have physician speakers on health-related issues of interest to women—breast cancer, osteoporosis, healthy eating, cardiac care and more,” says Quick. “We provide refreshments and door prizes. It’s been an awesome service—and we’ve provided it free of charge to attendees. People already have called to find out when the next series will start.”

Quick has high hopes for the future of Richmond Memorial Hospital and its foundation.

“We’d like to continue supporting the community and looking for new areas where we can address unmet needs, such as sponsoring health education programs in local schools,” she says. “All of us on the Board of Trustees are very excited about the improvements being made, the care being improved, the services being offered and the image our hospital now has in the community. It’s something we all can feel proud of.”