The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Back the Build Campaign received a healthful boost from a friendly village pharmacy Wednesday.

Christa Smith and Gail Wilson, owners of Wellington’s PharmaChoice Pharmacy, stepped forward with a five year, $10,000, pledge to the PECMH Foundation’s fundraising campaign for the new redeveloped Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton. 

Smith said the hospital has been vital for many generations in Prince Edward County and she and her business partner Gail Wilson felt supporting the Back the Build Campaign was an easy decision.
“The services PECMH provides our families and our community are invaluable,” said Smith. “Our hospital critically needs support from this community to help build a new facility and keep care close to home. We have seen firsthand the impact having a hospital in our community has on so many people in the County. We were happy to be able to contribute to our hospital’s vibrant future in this way.”

The proposal for the new hospital calls for the same services currently offered at PECMH but in a better space with state-of-the-art design and medical technology with the highest standards of infection control.

For example, the new hospital will have a emergency services department equipped with the latest medical technology and staffed 24/7 with skilled and dedicated health care professionals who will be better equipped to diagnose, stabilize and treat incoming patients.

The new hospital will have larger inpatient rooms that also include private washrooms.

Diagnostic imaging and cardio-diagnostic services, as well as a suite of clinics that provide endoscopy and dialysis treatment for patients from as far away as Belleville, Trenton and Bancroft are also part of the array of services that will continue to be offered at the new PECMH.

“We are proud of the partnership we have developed with the Foundation over the years and couldn’t be happier to support this important initiative that will bring a new hospital to our County and have a positive impact on our community,” added Wilson. “If businesses have the ability to support causes in our community, this should be a high priority on the list. You or somebody you know will need that hospital at some point. Wellington Pharmacy wants to do its part to ensure it’s here for the community for many years to come.”

The PECMH Foundation is hoping others will follow the lead of Wellington Pharmacy and the other local businesses that have already committed a pledge to Back the Build.

PECMH Foundation Executive Director Shannon Coull hopes more groups and companies will come forward with pledges and gifts over the next few months as the campaign continues.

“Wellington Pharmacy’s extraordinary contribution to Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital’s healthy future is a demonstration of their dedication to our community and their commitment to giving back. I thank Christa, Gail, their staff and families for coming forward with this pledge to our campaign and I am confident their leadership will inspire others to do the same,” said Coull.