The heartwarming legacy of five sisters and a family from Bloomfield continues to benefit those living in or visiting Prince Edward County.

The Stark Family Fund, administered through the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area, presented the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation (PECMHF) with a grant of $50,000 that will be used to purchase an upgrade to the cardiac monitoring system for use in both the Emergency Department and Inpatient Unit at Quinte Health Care Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (QHC PECMH).

Without this upgrade to the new cardiac monitoring platform, the hospital systems in both the Emergency Department and the Inpatient Unit are at significant risk to complete failure of cardiac monitoring capabilities. If the system were to suddenly stop working, the entire hospital will be impacted. With this upgrade, patients receiving cardiac care at QHC PECMH are fully supported. This vital piece of equipment will transition to the new hospital once opened in 2027.

“PECMHF and the Back the Build Campaign Cabinet are extremely grateful for the ongoing support we have received from the Stark Family Fund over the past 15 years. In that time, the foundation has been the recipient of eight grants totaling more than $135,000 from the Stark Family Fund,” said Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation. “The impact of not having this essential equipment means our medical team will not be able to care for patients with suspected or diagnosed cardiac conditions, and all of these patients will have to go to Belleville for care.”

In 2002, the Stark Family Fund was created at the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area with a $1.2 million gift from the last two surviving members of the Stark family: Ival and Ruth. The Stark family included five sisters: Leata, Keitha, Sylvia, Ival and Ruth; who were lifelong residents of Bloomfield in Prince Edward County. Without any heirs, the family decided to establish a permanent endowment fund from the accumulated estates of the five sisters and their spouses, to support the needs of the local community. Through the Stark Family Fund, the family’s strong sense of civic responsibility will continue to sustain worthy projects and causes in their beloved community.

Tim and Linda Beatty and their sons, Kyle and Ryan, sit on the grant selection committee to help oversee donations from the Stark Family Fund. Tim grew up living next door to the Stark sisters. The entire family feel blessed to have known them and for their role in helping to administer grants each year.

As a way of giving back, the Beatty family representing Beatty Seeds, County Farm Centre and Greer’s Propane, have also decided to support the Back the Build Campaign for a new hospital in Prince Edward County by coming forward with a gift of $50,000.

These gifts will be recognized in the new hospital with one room named in honour of the Stark sisters and a second room named in honour of the Beatty family.

“The Stark sisters were kind, quiet and giving,” said Tim Beatty. “It was their wish to see County residents benefit from their estate, particularly in the educational, health and cultural fields. They would be honoured to know the impact of their giving will benefit patients in our current hospital as well as continue to provide care in the new hospital, once opened. Through their hard work, savings and vision for the future, the Stark sisters have left an amazing legacy to our community.”

“I would like to thank the Stark family for their foresight in creating this community fund, which has contributed to such important causes in Prince Edward County. And I would like to recognize the Beatty family – Tim, Linda, Kyle, Ryan and Jill – as well as the selection committee, for helping to build on the strengths and capabilities of our community hospital and its mission to advance health care to all who live in, or visit, the County,” said Nancy Parks, Back the Build campaign co-chair. “Thanks to the generosity of the Stark Family Fund, the process of monitoring cardiac patients will be even safer for our patients and thanks to the Beatty family, we are one step closer to realizing our dream of building a new hospital in the County.

“The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area have been proud stewards of the Stark Family Fund for over 20 years. We feel good knowing their legacy helps those in the community who require access to hospital care. The entire community has benefitted and will continue to benefit from the forethought and generosity the Stark sisters left through their fund,” said Peter Finnegan, chairperson of the fundraising committee on the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area board.

The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area strengthens the community by connecting the generosity of donors with the energy and ideas of people and charities addressing local community needs. They have been making meaningful and lasting impacts in the community since 1995. For more information about the Stark Family Fund and how to apply, visit https://www.cfka.org/the-stark-family-fund/.

The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is to raise money to advance health care for the patients of the hospital and the people of Prince Edward County.