LifeFlight of Maine Receives $1 Million Gift To Create First Named Endowed Fund
Bangor, ME – The LifeFlight Foundation is thrilled to receive a generous $1 million gift to establish its first named, endowed fund. The Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation Medical Equipment Fund will support the purchase of specialized medical equipment used on board LifeFlight of Maine’s airplane, helicopters, and ground support vehicles.
The Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation carries on the philanthropic vision of Dr. Joseph and Connie Rossi, a couple with a strong love of Maine, and especially the MDI region, where LifeFlight continues to answer challenging scene calls in Acadia National Park and provides support to MDI Hospital. Last year, LifeFlight crews transported a record number of patients from that region, averaging one to two patient flights a week from Bar Harbor throughout the year.
“We are extremely pleased to honor the Rossis with a significant grant to LifeFlight to care for the people of Maine. The medical staff is prepared to provide critical care no matter when or where it is needed in our vast state,” said Laurie Warren, one of CCRF’s three Directors, on a recent visit to the Bangor base. “LifeFlight’s role is more important now than ever before, and we know the Rossis would be proud knowing their legacy lives on, helping to care for those who most need it.”
The generous grant from the Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation significantly increases LifeFlight’s endowment and provides financial sustainability for the future as LifeFlight of Maine prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023.
“Another lesson made clear by the pandemic, and our current economic volatility is the value an endowment provides to a nonprofit organization such as the LifeFlight Foundation,” reflected Executive Director Kate O’Halloran. “Enabling funds to be drawn annually, and in perpetuity, to meet one of the organization’s greatest needs is extremely powerful. Just as the people of Maine depend on LifeFlight to answer the call for help 24/7/365, we can now depend on our endowment to help purchase the advanced medical equipment our crews need. Just think about how many lives will benefit from the generosity of this one gift.”
Each LifeFlight aircraft has more than $500,000 of specialized medical equipment used to provide ICU level care in the air or on the ground en route to a major medical center in Maine or beyond. From isolettes that are used to safely transport premature and newborn infants, to ventilators and cardiac balloon pumps that keep heart failure patients alive – the need to purchase, upgrade, and replace the on-board advanced medical equipment is ongoing.
“We are extremely grateful for the generous support from the Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation. Our medical equipment must always remain as contemporary as our training and knowledge,” says LifeFlight of Maine Medical Director Norm Dinerman, MD. “This endowment helps us achieve that goal and provides the crew with the tools they need to provide the best care in the worst moments.”
