Samaritan Healthcare | The Samaritan | Winter 2018

4 THE SAMARITAN scores donations Golf classic for MRI Foundation focus Byron Riche and Andrea Callaghan (with Clear Risk Solutions) had fun with the golf ball launcher game. Foundation members share firsthand experiences with area healthcare The Samaritan Healthcare Foundation’s 17th an- nual Desert Golf Classic, held on Sept. 13, was a rousing success! From the shotgun start to the final awards, prizes, and appetizers, everyone who participated enjoyed a fun day. The purpose of the golf classic was to help raise funds for Samaritan Healthcare’s new, state-of-the-art GE Signa Artist 1.5 Tesla MRI machine. In January, the Foundation had pledged to raise $400,000 toward the $1.5 million purchase cost of the MRI. As a result of the generosity of those participating in the day of golf, roughly $20,000 was raised for the new MRI machine that Samaritan Healthcare will purchase for the hospital.The additional costs of building and installing the MRI bring the total estimated amount to just over $3 million. BENEFITS OF THE NEW MRI The Tesla MRI will be the first of its kind west of Salt Lake City and the first in Washington state.The new MRI’s tech- nology and images are far superior to those of the current ma- chine.The present one is leased and located in a trailer parked at the clinic. Having a high-quality MRI in its own space within the hospital will be more convenient for patients and staff, as well as being more cost-effective. The Tesla MRI is more open for patients who have claustro- phobia or ones who need extra monitoring during the proce- dure. Hospital patients or those admitted to the emergency department will also no longer need to take an ambulance to and from the clinic to receive an MRI. DONATION HELPED FOUNDATION MEMBER You could say what goes around comes around in the case of Kay and Jack Hendrix.The Hendrixes are community mem- bers who work in agriculture. When Jack had his second heart attack, they experienced firsthand the importance of the work the Foundation does to support the healthcare needs of the residents in the community. “We live in Grant County and had donated to the Foun- dation to help get the cardiac rehab program started,” said Kay. “We knew it was important because when Jack had his first heart attack in 1983, there was no cardiac rehab available