Partners in Health committee conducts year-end campaign. Community members can join giving club with a gift to the Falls Memorial Hospital Foundation. International Falls, MN (December 2, 2008) — After completing a membership drive in September, the Falls Memorial Hospital Foundation Partners in Health committee launched a campaign today by sending letters inviting more than 1,000 community members to consider a year-end gift to the hospital Foundation. “We’re inviting community members to be a part of the future of healthcare in our area through their tax-deductible donation,” says Partners in Health committee chairperson Julie Schumacher. “Through their gifts, individuals can join a group deeply interested in Falls Memorial Hospital and the contribution it makes to the quality of life in our community.” Last year, more than 100 Partners in Health made a direct impact on birth experiences at FMH; their gifts made it possible for the hospital to purchase a new labor and birthing bed. This year, Partners in Health are supporting the purchase of a new electrocardiogram (also called an EKG or ECG), equipment that records the electrical activity of the heart through small electrode patches attached to the chest, arms, and legs. EKG’s are quick, safe, painless and inexpensive tests that are routinely performed if a heart condition is suspected. At FMH in 2008, the EKG machine has been used as many as 108 times per month in the emergency room (this doesn’t include the approximately 26 times per month the machine is used in other areas of the hospital, such as surgery). That adds up to as many as 1,296 uses per year! FMH Partners in Health gifts ($100, $250, or $500) are directed to the Falls Memorial Hospital Foundation to support the hospital’s charitable mission, ensuring up-to-date medical equipment, patient care facilities and health education programs. These gifts are tax deductible. For more information on making a gift, or becoming a Partner in Health, please contact the FMH Foundation office at 218-283-5524.