The Lebanon Community Hospital (LCH) Foundation recently announced that it will fund $319,355 in projects at the hospital this year. Of that total, $62,355 will go to projects proposed by hospital employees and $257,000 will fund a remodel of the hospital's imaging department.

Each year, the foundation conducts a special "Employee Caring Campaign," in which hospital employees make donations to benefit various hospital projects and programs, such as the hospital's new infusion treatment area. In turn, the foundation matches the total amount given by employees and places it in a Matching Fund, which it then uses to support projects that employees themselves propose, either for their own departments or for the hospital in general.

Matching Fund projects in 2007 include infant resuscitators for the Girod Birth Center, two scholarships for parish nurses, additional tables and chairs in the cafeteria and a new exercise machine for the Cardiac Rehab department. Other projects include a stretcher for gynecologic ultrasounds for the Ultrasound Department, a biofeedback unit for physical therapy, a front loader tractor attachment for plant engineering and a backup cell washer for the lab.

The imaging department remodeling project will provide a new entrance and waiting area, digital mammography, new procedure rooms and a consultation room. The project will also add special touches designed to increase patient and visitor comfort, including a coffee bar and an indoor water feature.

The LCH Foundation is a 501 (C)(3) charitable, non-profit institution. The 26-member Board of Trustees meets quarterly to assess its stewardship of hospital assets and to help the hospital stay on the leading edge of rural health care.