MAPLETON – A small but enthusiastic group of Palmerston and District Hospital MRI+ Campaign committee members joined Larry and Debbie Schill on Jan. 4 at their farm outside of Drayton to announce a $250,000 pledge over five years to the campaign.
Asked about the motivation behind the donation, Larry Schill said, “We’ve lived here our whole lives. Our business has been centred around our community.
“This is home-base, and we feel strongly that we want to make sure our local hospital will be here for many generations after we’re long gone.”
Debbie Schill added, “I heard about what is happening in Durham and it just breaks my heart. We can’t lose our hospital.”
In May, South Bruce Grey Health Centre announced it would move 10 in-patient beds from its Durham hospital to hospitals in Walkerton and Kincardine “due to a critical shortage of staff,” according to a statement from the centre.
In Palmerston, patients presently need to leave the area in order to get an MRI.
“Larry and Debbie and I talked about the fact that this is an anchor service,” explained Palmerston and District Hospital Foundation development officer Dale Franklin.
“When you’re thinking about people who care about the long-term viability of a hospital, having an MRI service will sink those roots deeper into the ground than they’ve ever been before.”
Franklin said the foundation has worked to raise money for MRI services since 2023. During that time, over $7 million has been raised towards the $8 million goal, with the pledge from the Schills being the second largest single donation.
“We’re very grateful for donations like this one from the Schills, as well as all the donations that we have received,” said Franklin.
“It’s been a very gratifying campaign to work on, especially when you meet people like this who care about their local hospital. It just makes everybody smile.”
MRI+ committee co-chair Mark Leslie said, “I knew this community was generous, but not to the point that we have seen. It’s just been fantastic.
“It’s a lot of money and it’s amazing how quickly it’s been raised.”
Committee members explained government funding for hospitals is limited and patient care equipment, including scanning equipment like an MRI machine, is not usually covered.
“It makes me feel like we made the right decision in supporting the hospital’s decision to seek an MRI,” continued Franklin, “so that was where it started.
“The hospital knew that the province was going to be awarding these MRI services, and what that really means is they’re going to allow you to go out into your community and fundraise the millions of dollars needed to put the service in your hospital, and once that service is in place, then they will fund the operation of it.”
Franklin described the Palmerston and District Hospital Foundation’s response to the challenge of the MRI campaign as a unanimous decision reached without hesitation.
“We thought as a foundation we could do it. We thought as a foundation that the community would want this service and then, people like Larry and Debbie have come forward and said, ‘Yes, we do want this service, and we want to put our money where our mouth is.’”
Hospital foundation president Earl Campbell described the campaign as “truly a community barn-raising.
“It’s fantastic to have this level of support.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit pdhfoundation.ca.
