It’s spring! How we anticipate its arrival each year after the dreary days of winter. We emerge from layers of clothing and blankets and enjoy more hours of daylight. If you’re like me, you plan to get outside and plant flowers and hope the lawnmower will start. The anticipation of green grass and flowering gardens is high and we willingly take on the responsibility of caring for our gardens to help them grow and flourish.

When I think about growth, I think about our golf tournament and where we started versus where we are today.

Eight years ago, RE/MAX Quinte and the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation (PECMHF) hosted the inaugural Teeing Up Fore Health Care golf classic on a sunny day in June. Seventy-six golfers teed off and raised $22,000 for an echocardiogram machine. Little did I know, our biggest growth was ahead of us.

Fast forward to present day, PECMHF continues to partner with RE/MAX on this tournament. We have grown the tournament exponentially – selling out months in advance and welcoming so many friendly sponsors and golfers back each year.

Since inception, over $200,000 has been raised for medical equipment needed at our hospital. Our participants have made a difference by helping to place medical equipment in the skilled hands of our doctors, nurses and technologists. We are so grateful.

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, RE/MAX and PECMHF will host the 8th annual Teeing Up Fore Health Care Golf Classic at the Picton Golf and Country Club.

Proceeds will support the advancement of patient care in our community through the purchase of a mammography machine that will be installed in our new County hospital at an estimated cost of $500,000. The golf tournament launches our mammography campaign this year, and our Back the Build campaign cabinet will be fundraising for this important machine throughout the rest of the year.

Mammograms are among the most powerful breast cancer detection tools available. Last year, our technologists performed over 1,550 breast exams at Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH). Our current mammography machine is over 10 years old and is past its recommended lifespan.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). It is estimated that one in eight Canadian women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime and one in 34 will die from it.

Digital mammography plays a critical role in the early screening and diagnosis of breast disease. This equipment has the ability to accurately show changes in breast tissue long before the patient or physician is able to feel a lump. These changes may involve the following: calcifications, masses, asymmetries, or distortions, and can be as small as a pencil eraser!

Because priority equipment purchases are not government funded, the hospital foundation is looking to the community to ‘chip in’ their support to help bring this lifesaving diagnostic imaging equipment to our hospital.

There will be many opportunities to contribute to the fundraising efforts underway for the mammography machine. If you would like to support this through our golf tournament, consider purchasing a hole sponsorship at just $150.00. We are also accepting donations for prizes for our live and silent auction.

We are so appreciative to the golfers and sponsors who support our hospital. With 96 golfers reserved, our tournament is tentatively sold out. If you’re interested in playing, we would love to add you to our waiting list. Please call 613-476-1008 ext. 4425 or email me at bboyce@qhc.on.ca if you are able to help or are interested in playing.

It is through the generosity of our community that PECMHF can grow our resources and provide equipment to our Care Champions allowing them to deliver exceptional care when it is needed most. We cannot do this without our supporters.

Like caring for our gardens, caring for our hospital through donor support helps keep our community healthy and flourishing.

For information about our hospital, or to make a donation call 613 476 1008 ext. 4507, or visit our website at www.pecmhf.ca.