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Hospital foundation praises community for helping to raise more than $5M

Board Chairperson Barbara McConnell addresses annual general meeting attendees at the South Marysburgh Town Hall in Milford.

The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation (PECMHF) celebrated a successful year of fundraising at its recent annual general meeting – reporting the community stepped forward to help raise $5,033,681 in the 2021/22 fiscal year ending March 31.

The in-person gathering at the South Marysburgh Town Hall in Milford highlighted PECMHF’s achievements in its mandates to fundraise to provide priority medical equipment the County’s hospital and to help build the new facility.

“Year in and year out, we raise money to purchase medical equipment for our County hospital and to support regional healthcare, and that is vitally important work,” said Barbara McConnell, PECMHF chairperson. “It ensures our hospital medical and technical staff continue to have the equipment they need to treat us, their patients, with the excellent care we appreciate so much. And now, as we know, the foundation is raising money for our new hospital. That’s an even bigger job with a new target of $27 million. So far, $20.7 million has been raised in cash and pledges. That is a great achievement, one that this entire community can be proud of.”

The hospital, now in Stage 4 of 5 of the process is expected to open in late 2027.

Board treasurer, David Griffith note that in the last fiscal year, PECMHF transferred more than $329,000 to Quinte Health Care (QHC) to fulfill its responsibility to raise funds to pay for medical equipment.

These donations equipped QHC PECMH’s endoscopy department with a new defibrillator and portable cardiac monitor and bought a portable blood analyzer for the emergency department. The ultrasound machine, which benefits 2,200 patients annually, was purchased along with an automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) which cleans and disinfects gastroscopes and colonoscopes. New bariatric stretchers were added to the fleet, and the workstation to review mammographic images was replaced.

Griffith said that in addition, the Back the Build campaign received $1,672,244 in donations.

“The donations to our medical equipment fund and our Back the Build fund put us firmly on our path to raising the money we need to support our two important missions,” Griffith said. “We are very grateful for our donor support.”

In her presentation, McConnell said her participation on the volunteer board first as a director, and now embarking on her fourth term as chairperson, has been deeply rewarding.

“I see the foundation’s mission to raise money to support quality healthcare for everyone in the County as one of the most critical services available in this community. I am very proud of the foundation board of directors, the campaign cabinet and the staff for their commitment to advancing our efforts and reaching our goals. Their dedication to keeping our County hospital strong is unsurpassed.”

The foundation bid farewell to retiring directors John Walker, of Consecon, Peter Brady, of Milford, and Pat Evans, of Picton. In turn, the organization welcomed three new members: Steve Geist and Wendy Reid of Picton, and Doug Taylor of Wellington.

The new members increase the board to 16 directors. The existing directors are: Monica Alyea and Barbara McConnell of Milford; Mohamed Khimji of Ameliasburgh; Dennis Darby of Cressy; Ken Menlove of South Bay; and Leo Finnegan, David Griffith, Sherry Tait, Sandra Foreman, Ann Galvin, Dr. Andy Janikowski, Cathy Starkey, and Dr. Cliff Rice, all of Picton.

McConnell said she looks forward to new fundraising opportunities, including the Regional Health Information System (RHIS) expected to increase efficiency in making medical records more accessible to health care professionals serving patients; and connecting with new, as well as long-time donors, in a post-COVID environment.

McConnell emphasized the future success of the foundation’s work will result from continued collaboration with community partners, in addition to support from donors across the region and beyond. She expressed gratitude to the PECMHF staff, Shannon Coull, Briar Boyce and Sue Vincent, for their dedication and hard work.

To make a donation or for more information about the foundation, call 613-476-1008 ext. 4502, or visit the website at www.pecmhf.ca. PECMHF’s audited financial statements will soon be available online at https://www.pecmhf.ca/our-accountability.

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  1. Dennis Fox says:

    I just read and signed a petition online to stop the Ford government from privatizing our healthcare system. The promised hiring of nurses and doctors is not taking place and Ford is looking at private systems to find the cheapest way forward – not the the right nor long term fix. Like many, I have donated to the hospital, but what guarantee do we have that it will be a public one to serve the local public? I believe our provincial government needs to clarify what their policies are re: healthcare. Our future and that of our hospital depends on it.

  2. Paul D Cole says:

    Great Folks making great things happen here in The County. Kudos to all the County Folk who support the Community they love…

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