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In new community, couple continues legacy of giving through St. Luke's McCall Foundation
When Frank and Pam Cahouet relocated to Meadows Valley from Annapolis, Md., three years ago, they brought with them a legacy of philanthropy to the area northwest of McCall.
The Ann & Frank Cahouet Foundation, established more than 20 years ago by Frank's parents, aims to help those who are working to help themselves, including the elderly, children and families facing mental and physical health challenges.
Moving to the area highlighted a stark contrast, including the fact metropolitan areas generally have abundant philanthropic resources. Rural communities like Meadows Valley face many of the same challenges as larger cities but have disproportionality fewer nongovernment resources available. Vacation- and tourist-centric areas like Valley County suffer too as seasonal homeowners tend to direct their personal philanthropic resources to causes in their home communities.
"We want to help people and help our community … Are we hoping to set an example and encourage others to support this community? I suppose so," Frank said.
To better understand the needs of their new community, Frank reached out to Jenny Ruemmele, executive director of the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation. One of the top priorities discussed was improving access to specialized medical care, including emergency response and transport.
"It was helpful to learn more about local EMS, their challenges and heroic backcountry mountain rescues," Frank noted.
Coming from a place with numerous quality medical centers, he quickly recognized the significant challenges rural residents face during health emergencies, whether it's trauma from an accident or a heart attack.
Frank's journey led him to conversations with Meadows Valley Fire and EMS chief Doug Buys. He learned that the local EMS relies heavily on volunteers and has limited paid staff. Through these discussions, with input from Meadows Valley EMS medical director Dr. Jon Currey and staff members at Air St. Luke’s in McCall, a list of essential equipment and needs was created.
The result? The Foundation donated $185,000 to support local first responders, healthcare workers, and community members. This generous contribution will provide much-needed equipment, training, and support, ensuring that the community receives the best possible care during emergencies.
The Meadows Valley Fire and EMS received several pieces of critical equipment that supports safe medical response and transportation, essential training to increase the skill level of their first responders and support for patients who are under or uninsured and need assistance with paying for EMS services.
The new equipment includes a heart monitor and defibrillator that is used for individuals experiencing cardiac arrest. The defibrillator has advanced monitoring capability that can be utilized from on-site care through transport to the hospital. Another critical feature is real-time CPR feedback, which is essential for delivering high-quality CPR and can significantly improve survival rates.
Frank and Pam regularly drop in at the station to visit Buys and the team and offer their support.
“It means the world to us to have this support from Frank and Pam and the continued support from the entire New Meadows community,” Buys said. “This donation has allowed us to have equipment that we likely would have had to wait some time for.”
The remainder of the Cahouet Foundation‘s gift is serving more first responders in the region. Including the following.
- Air St. Luke’s Medical transport ambulance: Utilized by St. Luke’s McCall to transfer patients to Treasure Valley and McCall airports. The ambulance is being outfitted with new equipment that matches the equipment used in the plane or helicopter when air transport is necessary. These updates will provide a more seamless patient handoff from the hospital to the ground ambulance to the air ambulance, saving time and resources. The ambulance will also be upgraded to accommodate a dual oxygen tank system, increasing the oxygen supply that is often needed due to longer or delayed transport time.
- Donnelly Rural Fire Protection District: Received funds to support its American Heart Association Training Center that provides community CPR training for both the public and regional EMS teams.
- Simulation training for St. Lukes McCall Hospital staff and regional first responders: This training allows the teams to practice high-risk, low-frequency medical events in a safe and supportive learning environment. Exercises like this help the health care teams respond with confidence in case of a real event.
- Support for the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation’s Compassion Fund: This directly supports patients who may experience an unexpected health event and need help paying for medication, medical devices and travel to access the care they need outside of the area.
About The Author
Laura Crawford works in the Communications and Marketing department at St. Luke's.
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