Meadows Valley Fire & EMS Chief Doug Buys shows Frank and Pam Cahouet the new heart monitor and defibrillator that was made possible by their donation to the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation.
Meadows Valley Fire & EMS Chief Doug Buys shows Frank and Pam Cahouet the new heart monitor and defibrillator that was made possible by their donation to the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation.
Philanthropy
Meadows Valley Fire & EMS Chief Doug Buys with Frank and Pam Cahouet.
By Kelly FransonLast Updated July 8, 2025
When Frank and Pam Cahouet relocated to Meadows Valley from Annapolis, Md., three years ago, they brought with them a legacy of philanthropy to the area northwest of McCall.
The Ann & Frank Cahouet Foundation, established more than 20 years ago by Frank's parents, aims to help those who are working to help themselves, including the elderly, children and families facing mental and physical health challenges.
Moving to the area highlighted a stark contrast, including the fact metropolitan areas generally have abundant philanthropic resources. Rural communities like Meadows Valley face many of the same challenges as larger cities but have disproportionality fewer nongovernment resources available. Vacation- and tourist-centric areas like Valley County suffer too as seasonal homeowners tend to direct their personal philanthropic resources to causes in their home communities.
"We want to help people and help our community … Are we hoping to set an example and encourage others to support this community? I suppose so," Frank said.
To better understand the needs of their new community, Frank reached out to Jenny Ruemmele, executive director of the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation. One of the top priorities discussed was improving access to specialized medical care, including emergency response and transport.
"It was helpful to learn more about local EMS, their challenges and heroic backcountry mountain rescues," Frank noted. 208-381-2279
Coming from a place with numerous quality medical centers, he quickly recognized the significant challenges rural residents face during health emergencies, whether it's trauma from an accident or a heart attack.
Frank's journey led him to conversations with Meadows Valley Fire and EMS chief Doug Buys. He learned that the local EMS relies heavily on volunteers and has limited paid staff. Through these discussions, with input from Meadows Valley EMS medical director Dr. Jon Currey and staff members at Air St. Luke’s in McCall, a list of essential equipment and needs was created.
The result? The Foundation donated $185,000 to support local first responders, healthcare workers, and community members. This generous contribution will provide much-needed equipment, training, and support, ensuring that the community receives the best possible care during emergencies.
The Meadows Valley Fire and EMS received several pieces of critical equipment that supports safe medical response and transportation, essential training to increase the skill level of their first responders and support for patients who are under or uninsured and need assistance with paying for EMS services.
The new equipment includes a heart monitor and defibrillator that is used for individuals experiencing cardiac arrest. The defibrillator has advanced monitoring capability that can be utilized from on-site care through transport to the hospital. Another critical feature is real-time CPR feedback, which is essential for delivering high-quality CPR and can significantly improve survival rates.
Frank and Pam regularly drop in at the station to visit Buys and the team and offer their support.
“It means the world to us to have this support from Frank and Pam and the continued support from the entire New Meadows community,” Buys said. “This donation has allowed us to have equipment that we likely would have had to wait some time for.”
The remainder of the Cahouet Foundation‘s gift is serving more first responders in the region. Including the following.