Lovelace donates $10K to project
Through a $10,000 donation, Lovelace Health System has helped the Heart Hospital of New Mexico Foundation’s Project Pulse place 10 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in much-needed community spaces throughout New Mexico.
A few of the organizations benefiting from the donation include:
Sierra Vista Hospital Emergency Services; Magdalena Fire and EMS Volunteer Fire Department; Rio West Community Church in Rio Rancho; Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque; Back Country Horsemen of New Mexico Pecos Chapter First Responders;A Park Above; and Enlace Comunitario.
“We are pleased to partner with the Heart Hospital of New Mexico Foundation to bring these life-saving devices into such critical spaces in our community,” said Rachelle Spencer, administrator of Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center.
AEDs are an important part of the resuscitation process, allowing those administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to deliver a jolt of electricity to restart a heart in the critical moments before emergency services professionals can arrive.
“The donation of these AEDs will allow us to help community organizations throughout New Mexico save lives,” said Heart Hospital of New Mexico Foundation Board President Elizabeth Armijo. “The more AEDs we can get into the community, the better.”
The donation has a personal resonance with Armijo, as her father was saved several years ago by a fellow hotel guest and staff members who administered CPR and used an AED when he suffered cardiac arrest.
Both Lovelace Health System and Heart Hospital of New Mexico Foundation have worked diligently to help promote cardiovascular heath in New Mexico through education and community health partnerships. Lovelace’s volunteer CPR education team, Resuscitation Rangers, educated more
than 1,000 people on providing hands-only CPR in the first quarter of 2017. Project Pulse has placed dozens of AEDs throughout New Mexico since 2009.
$500K donation aids skin cancer
Jim and Ellen King have donated $500,000 to The University of New Mexico’s Department of Dermatology to improve skin cancer care and awareness in the state.
The Albuquerque couple worked with the UNM Foundation to establish The Jim and Ellen King Professor of Dermatology professorship, an endowed position. The department recently held a ceremony to recognize their contribution.
“This gift is a tremendous gesture toward the future of our dermatology care in our state,” says Aimee Smidt, M.D., chair of the Department of Dermatology.
This year, more than 87,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma and around 9,700 are expected to die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. About 500 New Mexicans will receive a melanoma diagnosis, meanwhile, and 70 will likely die from it.
The Kings, partial owners of Bradbury Stamm Construction, have also supported other UNM programs. But for Ellen, a survivor of melanoma, advancing skin cancer awareness is a personal cause.
The donation will enhance the department’s education, clinical care and research in melanoma and boost skin cancer awareness in local communities.
“We’ll be more successful in recruiting and retaining a dedicated faculty member in melanoma and pigmented lesions,” Smidt says. “We’ll also offer continuity of care to patients with melanoma.”
“I hope this can be the beginning of a strong tradition of community involvement and support of our mission,” Smidt says.
To learn more about the services offered by the Department of Dermatology, visit www. dermatology.unm.edu or call 505-272-6222.