Lyndonville Foundation $40K for lab equipment at Medina hospital

Foundation contributes $1 million in grants and donations to community in past 20 years

Photos courtesy of Orleans Community Health Foundation: Pictured fom left include Marc Shurtz, Orleans Community Health CEO; Darren D. Wilson, president of Lyndonville Area Foundation; Heather Smith, executive director of Orleans Community Health Foundation; Jeanne Crane, OCH Foundation Board president; and Suzana Galic, director of Lab Services.

MEDINA – The Lyndonville Area Foundation kicked off the Orleans Community Health Foundation annual fundraising campaign with a $40,000 grant for the purchase of a coagulation analyzer to be used in the lab at Medina Memorial Hospital.

Heather Smith, OCH Foundation executive director, acknowledged her appreciation and support the Lyndonville Area Foundation has provided OCH throughout the last 30 years.

Marc Shurtz, OCH CEO, Darren D. Wilson, president of the Lyndonville Area Foundation. Are shown next to new coagulation analyzer in Medina Memorial Hospital lab.

“They have been a major contributor to our organization on many of our larger projects,” she said. “Their continued support and dedication to the hospital is a true example that we are stronger together.

“Together We Are Stronger” is this year’s Orleans Community Health fundraising campaign in their efforts to raise $350,000 in support of their services and programs.

The coagulation analyzer is used to analyze the hemostasis system for proper coagulation (clotting) of the blood being tested. For some who have Covid-19, testing for clotting properties is a vital routine test that some may have to undergo as the virus is known to have an effect on the hemostasis system.

Suzana Galic, the lab director, has noticed an uptick in tests for clotting properties as a result of Covid-19 this past year. The Medina Memorial Hospital performs over 210,000 different lab tests for nearly 20,000 individual patients annually.

Darren D. Wilson, Lyndonville Area Foundation Board president, expressed his admiration and respect to the LAF’s entire Board of Directors noting that over the past 20 years – from January 2001 to January 2021 – the LAF’s board has voted to approve over $1 million in grants and donations in support of the communities of Lyndonville and the Town of Yates.

“This amount excludes what the Foundation provides in annual college scholarships along with our financial support in the construction of the Stroyan Auditorium to the Lyndonville Central School District,” Wilson said. “Should you include these last two items, the LAF’s distributions would be closer to $2 million over that same 20-year time period.”

“It’s a virtuous cycle,” Wilson said. “The community supports us and we, in turn, support the community. I can think of no better approach.”

The Lyndonville Area Foundation may be reached at PO Box 545, Lyndonville, New York 14098.