New County family presents $50,000 to Back the Build of County’s new hospital

Nicholas, Jeff, Traci and Alyssa DiBattista at their home in Picton. Briar Boyce photo

A desire to inspire others and help to ensure access to health care close motivated a $50,000 gift from the DiBattista family of Picton to help build and equip the new hospital in Prince Edward County.

Jeff and Traci DiBattista were both born and raised in Ontario. They lived in Edmonton for 27 years where they raised their two children, Alyssa and Nicholas, before returning to Ontario to be closer to family.

When Jeff and Traci decided to move back to Ontario, it took them two years to discover Prince Edward County having explored many communities before Traci’s sister suggested PEC.

The DiBattistas visited the County in the spring of 2019 and said it was love at first sight. They moved to the County later that year. Though they hadn’t planned on relocating full-time, the pandemic accelerated their plans to find an historic home and bring it back to its original glory.

The family was introduced to the philanthropic community through local news where they discovered the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation and its donors.

Jeff, a structural engineer, was interested in the plans to build a new hospital as his firm has worked with hospital builds in the past. He also recognized they were newcomers to the community and wanted to contribute to the projects and services that make the County a great place.

“When we approached the Foundation with the idea of making a contribution to Back the Build, we asked Shannon Coull (executive director) what was needed in order to make a difference in the lives of patients,” Jeff said.

The DiBattistas decided to split their donation – $25,000 toward building the new hospital and $25,000 toward funding the ultrasound machine, which will be used in the current hospital, and will move into the new hospital when the doors open in 2027.

“Being able to be part of this project and be able to help others, especially in health care, brings joy to my heart,” said Traci.

When Traci was pregnant with their first child, she required several ultrasound scans as the baby was in breech position. Traci had an ultrasound every week for two months before their daughter, Alyssa, was born.

“As first-time parents, all of this was new territory. We put a lot of faith in doctors and the equipment they were using to monitor our baby,” said Traci. “This is why investing in the new ultrasound machine is so meaningful not only to us, but to the community. Health care teams faithfully serve their patients and they need the right tools in their hands to improve the care patients receive in a safe and more efficient way.”

The new ultrasound machine has a cost of $184,930. This essential diagnostic tool will be used on thousands of patients every year at QHC PECMH. With this generous gift, PECMHF is now within $45,000 of raising the funds needed for the ultrasound machine.

Coull thanks the DiBattistas for being forward thinking and for investing in the health care needs of the community, for today and well into the future.

“Their dedication to philanthropy and commitment to inspire others is a true reflection of their strong values of giving back and bringing our community together to provide the best possible care, close to home.”

The current hospital serves more than 40,000 patient visits a year.

The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to raising funds to advance health care for the patients of the hospital and the people of Prince Edward County.