Diane Halvorson (left) and Melynda Brenton (right) present Tom Gifford with a certificate of appreciation from the Desert Gold chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Throughout our 100+ year history, the community has always come together to support San Juan Regional Medical Center in times of need. That has certainly proven true during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One item that is needed more than ever right now is oxygen. Due to the increased output, our old vaporizer was working at its max capacity. It was time for a new one. The new vaporizer arrived on a Sunday in December. But there was an issue. The flange it came with was different than what we had on hand so it couldn’t be hooked up.
Everyone started making calls to local vendors in the area to see if anyone had the part. Since it was a Sunday, not many places were open. Finally, medical gas mechanic Louis Hohmann called a friend, Tom Gifford, a retired oilfield pipeline welder with a machine shop in his garage. Tom immediately postponed his lunch and football viewing to help.
“He opened up his shop and got his mill out and turned those fittings down and milled them to where we could use them machine perfect. We had med gas certifiers and inspectors here and he did better than a factory could do,” Plant Engineering Manager Eddie Armenta said. “Once we were done with those parts we were able to get them installed.”
The new vaporizer was soon up and running, and is now able to provide us with four times the capacity of our old one. The install was a great reminder of the support we have in our community.
To thank Tom for taking the time to help out the hospital, the Desert Gold chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution honored him. At their February meeting, Diane Halvorson (New Mexico Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution State Regent and local member), and Melynda Brenton (Desert Gold Chapter Registrar), presented Tom with a certificate of appreciation. He was very surprised and pleased with the ceremony and we continue to be grateful for his help and support.