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01/01

Dyersville Area Community Foundation contributes to fundraising effort for CT scanner

Late last fall, the Dyersville Area Community Foundation contributed a $1,000 grant to the Dyersville Health Foundation for a fund drive in which MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center raised $150,000 toward the purchase of a computed tomography (CT) scanner. Medical center staff held an open house January 23 to celebrate the successful effort.

“Anyone coming to our emergency room with an injury or stroke symptoms in need of a CT scan must be transported to another facility, which uses precious time before diagnosis and treatment can begin,” said Liz Heins, director of MercyOne Dyersville Foundation. “Having a CT scanner at MercyOne Dyersville will enable us to expedite diagnosis and treatment, improving outcomes for our patients and saving lives.”

MercyOne Dyersville serves 15,000 rural residents of eastern Iowa. Patients in need of routine CT scans will be able to access these exams close to home, saving time away from work and family.

The nearly $800,000 price tag for the CT scanner seemed daunting, but a grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust provided $500,000 toward the purchase. MercyOne contributed $150,000, leaving the remaining dollars to community members. 

“The community really came through for the project,” said Heins. “Our goal was to raise $150,000, and thanks to some last-minute year-end gifts, we reached that goal!”

The new CT scanner will make a big difference for patients like Diane Thier, who visited the emergency department with stroke symptoms. “Without a CT scanner, we had to transport her to Dubuque. Once there, they did the scan and quickly determined she needed a higher level of care than they could provide. She was then transported to Iowa City,” Heins explained. “If we had the CT scanner at MercyOne Dyersville, we could have done the scan and quickly airlifted her to Iowa City right from Dyersville. As we all know, every minute counts in those situations.”

The Dyersville Area Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, awarded 11 grants to local nonprofits in its 2019 grant cycle. Grants are supported by donations made to the Foundation’s endowment fund, which contributed approximately $14,000 to strengthening communities in the Dyersville area last year. To support to these efforts, visit dbqfoundation.org/dacf or contact Michelle Grover, foundation coordinator, at dacf@dbqfoundation.org or 319.269.6432.