The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation raised more than $4 million during the latest fiscal year.
At its annual meeting on June 27, PECMHF reported the community stepped forward to help raise $4.2 million in the 2023/24 fiscal year ending on March 31.
Barbara McConnell, PECMHF’s outgoing chairperson, thanked the community for their generous support.
$724,000 has gone to Quinte Health to pay for medical equipment with $3.5 million going to the Back the Build campaign for the new hospital.
“Year in and year out, we raise money to purchase medical equipment for our County hospital and support regional healthcare, which is vitally important work. It ensures that our hospitals’ Care Champions have the equipment to treat us and their patients with the excellent care we greatly appreciate. As we know, the foundation is raising money for our new hospital. That’s an even bigger job with a target of $27 million. Just over $23 million has been raised in cash and pledges, with $4 million left. That is a great achievement that this entire community can be proud of. Now, with the naming of the successful contractor and shovels going into the ground imminently, the expectation is that we will open the doors of our new hospital late in 2027,” she said.
The Board Treasurer, David Griffith, reinforced the significant role PECMHF plays in raising money each year for medical equipment for our County hospital and the greater Quinte region.
“In the last fiscal year, PECMHF transferred more than $724,000 to Quinte Health to fulfill our responsibility to raise funds to pay for medical equipment,” he reported. These donations equipped PECMH’s Emergency Department with tools to conduct eye examinations. Vital signs monitors and a vein finder were also purchased for the department. New smart beds were added to the fleet, and the foundation contributed instalments towards the Intensive Care Unit located at Belleville General Hospital and the Regional Health Information System (RHIS) project (also known as Lumeo), which will increase efficiency in making medical records more accessible to health care professionals serving patients.
“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 the support of the community.”
With McConnell’s term as Chairperson ending, the Board Executive—consisting of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, and Past Chairperson—will have new leadership moving forward. For the 2024/25 fiscal year, McConnell will be moving to the Past Chairperson role. Peggy Payne, who joined the board in 2023 as Vice-Chairperson, will move into the Chairperson role. David Griffith will remain the Treasurer, and Sherry Tait will remain the Secretary. The Vice Chairperson role is currently vacant.
The foundation bid farewell to retiring directors Dennis Darby, Leo Finnegan, Ken Menlove, and Steve Geist. It welcomed one new member: Jeff DiBattista of Picton.
The 2024/25 PECMHF board consists of 14 directors: Barbara McConnell and Monica Alyea of Milford; Mohamed Khimji of Ameliasburgh; David Griffith of Lake on the Mountain; Doug Taylor of Wellington; Wendy Reid of Waupoos; and Jeff DiBattista, Sandra Foreman, Ann Galvin, Andy Janikowski, Peggy Payne, Susan Quaiff, Cliff Rice, and Sherry Tait, all of Picton.
