There were cheers all around for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s (PECMHF) Back the Build Campaign on Tuesday.
The Rotary Club of Picton toasted to the proposal for a new hospital in Prince Edward County with a $10,000 investment in the Hospital Foundation’s fundraising campaign currently underway.
The funds were raised at the 5th annual Uncork Canada wine tasting event held on June 15 at the Rotary Club of Picton Hall. The event was hosted by the local Rotarians in partnership with the PECMHF and The All Canadian Wine Championships (ACWC). This year’s event saw 196 tickets sold and $10,000 raised in net revenue, the best result to-date.
“Picton Rotary was happy to partner with the Prince Edward Memorial Hospital Foundation to host this unique wine tasting event. Our Rotary Club has a 17-year history of supporting the great work done by the Foundation, and we are proud to share and invest the proceeds to help Back the Build and bring a new hospital to our County,” said Brenda Hellyer, president of the Rotary Club of Picton. “This campaign should be a high priority on everyone’s wish list. You or somebody you know will need that hospital at some point. Picton Rotary wants to do its part to help ensure it’s here for the community for many years to come.”
It’s with great excitement that the Foundation moves forward with the redevelopment process for a new hospital in Prince Edward County. The current hospital has a reputation for providing great care, but current ‘House of Healing’ is aging.
“With state-of-the-art design and infrastructure, the new hospital will offer the same but better services than the ones we have today; an excellent emergency department equipped with the latest medical technology and staffed with our skilled and dedicated health care professionals, better able to diagnosis, stabilize and treat incoming patients. Inside its walls will be a suite of clinics to provide, among other medical services, endoscopy and dialysis treatment to patients from throughout our region,” Foundation spokesperson Briar Boyce said. “The new PECMH will have 18 inpatient rooms that will be larger and each room will have its washroom.
The Foundation is working towards meeting the goal of its largest fundraising campaign in its 34-year history. PECMHF’s Back the Build campaign aims to raise $16.5 million for the new hospital over the next five years.
PECMH Foundation Executive Director Shannon Coull acknowledges that while $16.5 million is an ambitious goal, fundraising is well underway.
“We have raised just over $11 million in commitments, leaving us with $5.5 million to go. The future of health care delivered at PECMH wouldn’t be as great without the support from service clubs like the Rotary Club of Picton.”
The generosity of Uncork Canada’s title sponsor, Scotiabank Picton, helped Rotary maximize proceeds for this event. The Uncork Canada committee would like to thank The Elks Lodge of Picton and The Waring House who also sponsored Uncork Canada again this year.
Coull is hoping other clubs and organizations will follow the lead set by both Picton and Wellington Rotary Clubs and other local businesses that have already committed a pledge or made a gift to Back the Build.
The Foundation hopes to celebrate more pledges and gifts over the next few months as the campaign continues.
“Picton Rotary’s contribution to PECMH’s healthy future is a demonstration of their dedication to our community and their commitment to giving back. I thank the Rotarians and the Uncork Canada Committee for raising a glass in support of our campaign and I am confident their leadership in our community will inspire others to step up and Back the Build,” said Coull. “With this gift today, the Rotary Club of Picton has invested $107,345 since 2002 into our County Hospital and their efforts will be recognized at the Grand Patron level of our donor wall at a ceremony this October.”
The Foundation anxiously, and with increased optimism, awaits the approval of the Stage Two submission which is now sitting with the Treasury Board for approval. We look forward to celebrating with all of you once we get the green light to proceed to Stage Three of the five-stage approval process.
The planning partners are hopeful they will be approved to move to the next stage in the process of building a new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH) this fall.
Be sure to mark Saturday, June 20, 2020 on your calendar for the 6th annual Uncork Canada. For more information, please visit www.uncorkcanada.ca
-Staff