From left, Daniel Hocking, Westfield Memorial Hospital Foundation treasurer, and Patricia Gaughan DiPalma, foundation executive director, meet with Christine Adams, iImmediate past foundation treasurer, in the Westfield Memorial Hospital community room to discuss the foundation’s Annual Campaign Kick-Off.

WESTFIELD – The annual Westfield Memorial Hospital Foundation campaign is under way.

“Being designated a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) is a great opportunity for AHN Westfield Hospital,’ said Dr. Kathryn S. Bronstein, board president of the Westfield Memorial Hospital Foundation, when announcing this year’s Annual Campaign.

AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital officials say the designation will ensure the hospital’s long-term financial and operational stability going forward and protect care access for its patients. Designated rural hospitals are eligible for additional federal funding and higher Medicare reimbursement rates.

“We are so gratified that AHN Westfield has received the REH designation,” said hospital Administrator, Dr. Rodney Buchanan. “This change will help residents of the region maintain access to the high-quality health services they need for years to come.”

The success of the annual campaign will also be critical for the continued viability and success of AHN Westfield Hospital,” continued Bronstein.

As the fund-raising arm for AHN Westfield Hospital, the WMH Foundation has vowed to work with the community hospital to provide financial support for the delivery of healthcare to the residents in the region. This past year alone, the foundation provided funding for a LIFEPAK monitor/defibrillator, kitchen flooring and supplies, surgical lights in the Emergency Department and Wound Clinic, breast cancer awareness items in the Radiology Department and a water softener system and five portable air purifiers needed throughout hospital.

“We remain grateful to all our valued donors who understand the importance of this essential campaign by lending their amazing support year after year,” said Patricia Gaughan DiPalma, foundation executive director. “If our hospital is to remain a forerunner in enhanced diagnostic services, the foundation will repeatedly be called on to fund sophisticated equipment in all hospital departments.”

Donations can be made through Dec. 31 to the WMH Foundation, 189 E. Main St., Westfield. Gifts will support two new treadmills and two new elliptical bicycles in physical therapy as well as new flooring for the Medical Surgery area located on the second floor of the hospital.

“It’s the generosity of the people who the hospital serves who help make the difference,” DiPalma and Bronstein said. “We’d like to see more residents participate in this campaign. We challenge everyone in our hospital service area of Ashville, Bemus Point, Brocton, Chautauqua, Clymer, Dewittville, Findley Lake, Mayville, Panama, Portland, Ripley, Sherman, Stockton and Westfield to step up and take ownership of the need for state-of-the-art medical equipment in our community.”

For more information, email DiPalma at patricia.dipalma@ahn.org; call 716-793-2338 or visit the foundation’s website at www.westfieldhospitalfoundation.org.