The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation celebrated a fundraising milestone at its annual general meeting (AGM) on June 18. The foundation noted that the community stepped forward to help raise over $6.6 million during its last fiscal year, ending March 31^st.

The virtual AGM highlighted the foundation’s achievements, particularly its fundraising work to provide leading edge priority medical equipment at Quinte Health Care Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (QHC PECMH) and to help build the new hospital. In total, the Foundation raised $6,655,541 million in 2020/21.

Barbara McConnell, chairperson of the Foundation thanked the community for their generous support again this year, noting that the funds raised in the 2020/21 fiscal year are used to support the foundation’s two priority missions.

“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. 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 that is our community share of the cost of our new hospital. That’s an even bigger job with a target of $16.5 million. So far, we’ve raised $15.7 million in cash and pledges. That is a great achievement, one that this entire community can be proud of,” she said.

The Board Treasurer, David Griffith, reinforced the significant role the foundation plays in raising money each year for medical equipment for our County Hospital and the greater Quinte region.

“In the last fiscal year, we transferred $441,799 to QHC to fulfill our responsibility to raise funds to pay for medical equipment,” he reported. The essential equipment included two bladder scanners, a food steamer, a crash cart defibrillator and two new SMART beds now in use at QHC PECMH. Through donor dollars, the foundation was also able to help support the purchase of maternal child-related equipment such as milk warmers and pediatric stretcher cribs needed at QHC Belleville General Hospital where over 150 County babies are born each year.

Griffith said that in addition, the Back the Build campaign received nearly $5.6 million in donations in that one year toward the goal of $16.5 million for the new hospital.

“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 at the AGM, McConnell said her participation on the volunteer board first as a director, and now in her third and final 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 ensuring we achieve the best possible outcomes against our goals. This volunteer board and our outstanding foundation staff are deserving of our gratitude and appreciation for all they do to help make sure our healthcare team is supported and has the equipment and facilities needed to do their job well. Their dedication to keeping our County hospital strong is unsurpassed,” McConnell said.

She noted that moving into the 2021/22 fiscal year, the foundation looks forward to new opportunities with the launch of a refreshed strategic plan with an eye to being ready for the future combined with a welcome sense of normalcy starting to return after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Despite COVID, our donors have been steadfast with their generosity and we thank all of Prince Edward County and beyond for faithfully supporting the foundation,” she said. “We look forward to announcing the results of our COVID-19 fundraising efforts at a presentation planned for June 25.”

Chair of the Governance Committee, Pat Evans, noted that the foundation’s immediate response to the need for a separate COVID-19 pandemic fund in early spring of 2020 reflected the innovative thinking that is part of our foundation’s DNA.

“We felt that people needed a positive way to react to the enormity of what was happening, so we quickly established the fund to allow people to take a simple step to help our greater community cope. It was inspiring to see how quickly that fund grew to more than $100,000,” Evans said, adding that the fund is helping to pay for unexpected COVID costs in our hospital system.

The foundation bid farewell to long-time director Cline Pierson of Wellington, who retired from the board after 17 years of service. In turn, the organization welcomed three new members: Ann Galvin, a retired CPA, and Dr. Andrew Janikowski, a retired family physician, both of whom live in Picton, and Mohamed Khimji, a law professor at Queens University who lives in Ameliasburgh. These new members increase the board to 16 directors. The existing directors are: Monica Alyea and Barbara McConnell of Milford; John Walker of Consecon; Dennis Darby, Leo Finnegan, David Griffith, Sherry Tait, Peter Brady, Pat Evans, Sandra Foreman, Cathy Starkey, Ken Menlove, and Dr. Cliff Rice, all of Picton. 

McConnell said she looks forward to new fundraising opportunities and reconnecting with new as well as long-time donors in a post-COVID environment.

“I'm very proud to be part of the philanthropic community that supports our County Hospital. I've witnessed our hospital provide outstanding care to so many in our community. When illness strikes, we need effective health care and we want to ensure the latest technical and diagnostic services are available in Prince Edward County now and for years to come. It's comforting to know that a great hospital with fine facilities is nearby, staffed and equipped to make a difference,” she said.

McConnell emphasized the future success of the foundation’s work will result from continued collaboration with community partners, in addition to continued support from donors across the region and beyond.

The PECMH Foundation’s audited financial statements are available online at http://pecmhf.ca/about/documents/.

To make a donation or for more information, please contact the foundation at 613-476-1008 ext. 4502, or visit our website at www.pecmhf.ca.

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.