Valero gives $25,000 grant to Lifesavers campaign

Posted

BROOKINGS – Brookings Health System Foundation received a $25,000 grant from the Valero Energy Foundation in support of the new Ambulance Station and Education Center which recently opened along Yorkshire Drive. 

The mission of the Valero Energy Foundation (VEF) is to collaborate with non-profit partners across the United States to foster improved quality of life and create measurable impact where unmet needs exist in communities. In support of this mission, VEF makes investments in four strategic pillars, including health care, and specifically seeks opportunities to support the development of strategic community health resources and services, such as the Ambulance Station and Education Center, that will serve the current and long-term needs of each community.

“Thank you to the employees of the Valero Aurora Ethanol Plant for their generous support and to the Valero Energy Foundation for their financial investment in this critical project,” Foundation Director Sara Schneider said. “Their contributions not only help support our ambulance service’s new operational headquarters, but also helps increase team efficiency and response times which means everything in a medical emergency.”

To help open the new Ambulance Station and Education Center, Brookings Health System Foundation launched the Support Our Lifesavers capital fundraising campaign last September. 

The new station location is strategically placed to service the majority of call volume for both the city and county while maintaining strong access to respond to other advanced life support calls throughout the local area. It also places the ambulance service in close proximity to Brookings Hospital and the ER. It houses all four advanced life support vehicles, the mass casualty vehicle and the mobile first-aid station trailer under the same roof as staff offices and living quarters. 

The new station also enables the ambulance service to attend to the growing needs of the community. In 2017, Brookings Health System’s ambulance service made over 2,285 calls, a 40 percent increase in call volume since 2009. 

Community members or businesses interested in supporting health care within our community can learn more online at www.brookingshealth.org/Foundation or may contact Schneider directly at 696-8855 or email foundation@brookingshealth.org.