GUELPH – The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital announced it has exceeded its $34-million “Together, We Care” fundraising goal.
“I am overjoyed to share that together, we raised an unbelievable $37,496,057 in received and pledged funds,” said the Foundation’s CEO, Suzanne Bone in a March 23 press release.
“Close to 10,000 individuals and businesses donated to the campaign, and thousands more supported through our fundraising events and 50/50 lottery. We received gifts from five dollars to five million dollars and are incredibly grateful for each one.”
Co-chaired by Linda Hasenfratz, Susan Frasson and Rob Wesseling, Together, We Care will support expanding the emergency department, including dedicated spaces for mental health and addictions care.
It will also fund the replacement of aging equipment with innovative technologies to provide quicker, better and safer diagnosis and treatment, improved outcomes and patient comfort.
Finally, it will fund the expansion and modernization of the hospital’s Special Care Nursery that supports the tiniest patients and their families.
Already, more than $15 million in campaign funds has been used to buy priority equipment including a hospital-wide medication safety initiative, CT scanner, mammography machine, infection-identifying machine, vital signs monitors at every bedside and much more.
Next up is a new MRI scanner, due to arrive later this year. A full list of funded equipment can be found at www.togetherwecare.ca.
The hospital will break ground on the Special Care Nursery expansion in a few weeks and planning continues for the expansion of the emergency department and services for those with mental health and addictions concerns.
Community support is fundamental in the hospital’s ability to care for the community it serves, says hospital president and CEO Marianne Walker.
“Donors make an incredible difference to the care we are able to provide because they fund every piece of patient care equipment we purchase … the tools our caregivers need to provide comfort and caring, healing and curing to our community.”
She added, “We are so grateful to the foundation staff and volunteer team for their efforts, and, of course, to our caring community for their generous donations.”
