PORT ANGELES — The Elizabeth B. McGraw Foundation, headed by Lee McGraw — formerly of Sequim — donated $400,000 toward the purchase of a new imaging equipment for Olympic Medical Center, OMC Foundation director Bruce Skinner said.
The contribution was announced at the Olympic Medical Center commissioners meeting on Wednesday.
In addition to donation, the McGraw Foundation has pledged that it will match local gifts up to $200,000, Skinner said.
“We are extremely grateful for this donation,” OMC CEO Darryl Wolfe said, “as this will be a game changer for us and patient healthcare on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“Because of COVID, we have had to limit our capital purchases. We would not have been able to purchase this at this time if it wasn’t for this gift and the foundation’s willingness to match it.”
The McGraw foundation will help OMC advance state-of-the-art computed tomography (CT) scan imaging and will allow additional patients to be examined locally instead of having to travel out of the area, Skinner said.
“We are extremely excited to be a part of this partnership with the hospital,” Skinner said.
“We exist to provide equipment for OMC so that people can receive treatment locally. Once again, we’re able to provide funds that will save people’s lives.”
The latest CT Scan has 128 slices, which will provide for improved imaging of the heart, cancer and other diseases, OMC representatives said.
“This is the top-of-the-line CT scanner,” OMC Director of Radiology John Troglia said. “These machines can provide a full-body scan in mere seconds. This is a huge win for patients, thanks for the incredible speed and accuracy of these machines.”
McGraw, a former Sequim resident who lived in Clallam County until just recently, is the great-granddaughter of James H. McGraw, who founded McGraw-Hill Inc. McGraw-Hill Financial later became S&P Global. McGraw-Hill, a global leader in educational content and digital platforms, was purchased by Platinum Equity in 2021 for $4.5 billion.
Lee McGraw’s grandmother is the late Elizabeth B. McGraw.
“We are extremely grateful to be a part of this incredible project,” McGraw said in a press release. “We’ve always supported healthcare wherever we have lived. My husband and I moved back to the Boston area to be with family, but we plan on returning — we love Sequim and the Pacific Northwest.
“Doing our due diligence prior to contacting the foundation, we found that we have an incredible hospital. As a Lupus patient, I know how important that is to a community.”
