The Sequim-Dungeness Hospital Guild has presented $31,109 to Clallam County Fire District No. 3 for the purchase of new Zoll X Series monitors and defibrillators to equip ambulances and fire engines.
Guild President Jean Janis presented the donation to Fire Chief Ben Andrews at a Friday luncheon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church attended by about 50 people.
Continuing legacy
The guild’s support “helps us to continue to stay on the front edge of technology, equipment and training,” Andrews said.
“Like every other public agency, finances are a struggle for us,” he said.
“Our revenue goes up by a little over 1 percent a year, but our expenses go up way more than that every year.”
As such, ongoing donations from the guild allow “us to continue to have the type of equipment that is maintained and appropriate for what we are doing,” Andrews said.
“We could just get by, but this helps to do better than just getting by.”
And that allows the fire department to provide better service to the community, he said.
The guild, founded in 1970, is a nonprofit organization that includes about 85 to 100 active members. It has donated more than $2 million to health care providers and emergency responders to date.
The money is raised at the Sequim-Dungeness Hospital Guild Thrift Shop at 204 W. Bell St. — which sells donated and consignment items — or through donations from the public, said Addie Curtis, guild publicity chair.