The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation celebrated the successes of their 2018/19 year at their annual general meeting Thursday at the Wellington Legion Branch 160.

The PECMH Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is to raise money to advance health care for the people of Prince Edward County.

This year brought in almost 600 new donors to the Foundation family and thanks to them and the countless other donors the PECMH Foundation has been able to fund a number of pieces of essential equipment.

“Our success last year would not be possible without the generosity of our community and our donors,” said Shannon Coull, executive director of the Foundation. “We brought in close to 600 first time donors who we welcome to our donor family. As for the donors who have been longstanding members of our Foundation’s family, thank you for your continued support and commitment to the health of our hospital. Your partnership and confidence in our organization is greatly appreciated.”

The equipment includes two ventilator units, a pediatric monitor, large volume infusion pumps, two colonoscopes and two gastroscopes for the regional Endoscopy Centre located at PECMH

Barbara McConnell, the Foundation’s newly elected chairperson thanks Monica Alyea for her three years chairing the Foundation. Monica will continue to serve on the board as a director. (Submitted Photo)

Over the past year the Foundation and its donors have been doing some amazing work such as raising funds to provide state of the art equipment at PECMH and to help build the new hospital.

The foundation raised in total, for the first time in the organizations history, an excess of $1 million in cash donations during the 2018/19 fiscal year.

“This past fiscal year, thanks to the overwhelming support of our donors and partners, we transferred $351,541 to Quinte Health Care; $196,116 was for medical equipment purchases for our County Hospital and $155,425 was for expenses related to Stage 1 capital planning for the new hospital,” Coull stated. “The generosity of our supporters is inspiring and heartwarming – you are all truly making a difference in the lives of our patients and their families right here in Prince Edward County.”

In addition to the purchase of priority equipment, the Foundation’s Back the Build campaign for the new hospital is heading into full swing as the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation works towards meeting the goal to raise $16.5M for the new hospital over the next five years.

While $16.5M is an ambitious goal the foundations fundraising is well underway and the Campaign Cabinet is actively seeking donations.

Campaign Cabinet members will be announced in the new future.

With having already raised $11M in commitments they are only $5.5M away from their goal.

“I’m very proud to be part of the philanthropic community that supports our County Hospital,” Coull said. “I’ve witnessed our hospital provide outstanding care to so many in our community. When illness strikes, we need effective health care and we want to ensure the latest technical and diagnostic services are available in Prince Edward County now and for years to come. It’s comforting to know that a great hospital with fine facilities is nearby, staffed and equipped to make a difference.”

Along with the release of the Foundation’s audited financial results the group elected three new directors to its board bringing the slate to 15.

RETIREES – From left: Monica Alyea, Dr. Michael Shannon (retiring), Fran Donaldson (retiring), Sue Law (retiring) and Barbara McConnell. Absentee retirees: Lillian Duffy and Paul Gallagher. (Submitted Photo)

New directors included Dr. Cliff Rice, Sherry Tait, David Griffith and Art Hewer on behalf of the PECMH Auxiliary.

They join returning directors Monica Alyea, Peter Brady, Dennis Darby, Pat Evans, Leo Finnegan, Sandra Foreman, Barbara McConnell, Ken Menlove, Cline Pierson, Donald Wakefield and John Walker.

Retiring from the board were Fran Donaldson, Lillian Duffy, Sue Law, Dr. Michael Shannon and

Paul Gallagher.

The Foundation is grateful for the commitment of talent and time these Directors gave to their hospital in the pursuit of raising funds to advance health care for their patients.

At the general meeting directly following the annual general meeting, Barbara McConnell was elected Chair of the Foundation replacing Monica Alyea, who completed her three-year term.

Alyea remains a director on the Board, McConnell has committed to a two-year term as Chairperson and Pat Evans was elected vice chair.

“Alyea has been a valued member of our Board of Directors since 2011 and our Chair since June 2016,” Coull expressed. “We thank Monica for her commitment to our County Hospital and look forward to her remaining on the board as we work to build a new hospital in Prince Edward County. We are pleased to welcome Barbara as Chair of the Foundation for the next two years. Barbara has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2018 and volunteered with our Foundation for several years prior to joining. Her strength in leadership and strategic communications will be of great benefit to our Foundation.”

The Foundation is excited for what’s in store for our 2019/20 year as it is challenged with raising almost $400,000 for medical equipment purchases at PECMH while raising funds for the new hospital.

The PECMH Foundation’s audited financial statements will be available online beginning July 3 at http://pecmhf.ca/about/documents/

To make a donation or for more information, you can contact the Foundation at 613-476-1008 ext. 4425 or drop by the hospital or donate securely online at www.pecmhf.ca

-Staff