$90,000 Grant May 27, 2004 CVMC To Receive $90,000 Grant From The Duke Endowment

Catawba Valley Medical Center President & CEO J. Anthony Rose received notification recently from The Duke Endowment that the hospital would be the recipient of a $90,000 appropriation to assist with an Emergency Center Information System. To be eligible for this gift, CVMC was required to match the grant amount. "With the grant and the matching funds from the medical center, an additional $70,000 was needed to underwrite the cost of $250,000 for the new information system," said Bill Loehr, Catawba Medical Foundation Executive Director. "That goal has been more than exceeded by generous donations from many private donors as well as organizations including The Arditti Foundation, The Beaver Foundation, The Belk Foundation, The Bolick Foundation and The Unifour Foundation." "The new tracking system will be a valuable tool that will allow our staff and physicians instant access to diagnostic test results and other treatment information," said Van Haygood, CVMC Emergency Department Director. "We will know the status of each patient during the treatment process and will be able to keep both patients and their families better informed about their progress. The renovation and expansion of our facility as well as this new system will help us streamline patients' visits and reduce waiting." "This is one of the most comprehensive information systems of this type that we have seen," said Mary L. Piepenbring, director of the Health Care Division of The Duke Endowment. "We are optimistic that this project will not only benefit the patients of CVMC, but will also provide valuable experience and knowledge that may be helpful to other medical facilities. We are pleased to be able to make this grant." Catawba Medical Foundation encourages contributions from individuals and businesses throughout the community to help Catawba Valley Medical Center maintain its self-supporting, not-for-profit status. Since CVMC's inception, the Foundation has helped the hospital and its affiliates underwrite vital new programs and acquire state-of-the-art medical technology - all without depending on the use of local tax dollars. Catawba Valley Medical Center is a not-for-profit healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventative medicine and acute care. It was designated in 2001as the thirty-second Magnet facility in the nation and the second in the Carolinas. Established in 1924 by North Carolina industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, The Duke Endowment is one of the nation's largest private foundations. Its mission is to serve the people of North Carolina and South Carolina by supporting selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and spiritual life.