Stories

Bill and Linda Scott bring new technology home to Providence St. Mary

A chance meeting in a Mammoth ski lift line was a date with destiny for Bill and Linda Scott. Married for 44 years, the couple has enjoyed a happy and active life running their business and raising their two daughters. A lifelong car buff, Bill had a brush with fame when the rare 1968 Lamborghini tractor he found and spent three years restoring was featured on “Jay Leno’s Garage” web show.

In 2015, the couple sold Scott Turbon Mixer, their large-scale stainless-steel mixing equipment manufacturing business, after 35 years and embarked on their world travels. A trip to Mammoth in 2016 unexpectedly turned into a medical emergency when Bill suffered a heart attack. Bill was flown to Reno for an emergency stent, which resolved the issue.

Inspiration strikes

In 2022, Bill began to feel the same pressure on his chest that preceded his previous heart attack. A visit to Providence St. Mary Medical Center confirmed an issue — his stent was nearly blocked. His physician, Venkat Devineni, M.D., explained the danger of clearing the blockage, which could lead to a chunk of plaque breaking off and causing a stroke.

The solution was to send Bill to a medical center that was a considerable distance from his home for a procedure using a new technology called Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter, which disintegrates artery blockages into harmless microparticles. Bill had to wait a few days for his appointment, and then his ambulance got stuck in a traffic jam on the way and they had to reschedule.

While the procedure was a complete success, Bill will never forget the stress of having to travel for his lifesaving care. “The area that was impacted is called the widow maker, which is a major artery — I didn’t want to have a stroke or a heart attack while I was waiting,” he remembers. “I thought, ‘Why doesn’t Providence St. Mary have this?’”

When action meets generosity

Bill started thinking seriously about how to bring the technology here to the High Desert. A man of action and a natural problem solver, he went to work on it. “I called the rep for Shockwave, and he gave me the pricing and availability,” says Bill. “I relayed the info to the foundation and Michael Page was instrumental in this trek. Some months later, we made a gift and now it’s here within the medical center.”

“Because of Bill and Linda, there are multiple people in our community who’ve already benefited from the technology,” says Michael Page, senior director of philanthropy. “Thanks to their generosity, these patients have access to this lifesaving technology close to home in the High Desert.”