Credit Union Lead Sponsor for Healthcare Equipment Legacy Project

ALBERTON -- The Western Hospital Foundation has exceeded its Healthcare Equipment Legacy Project (HELP) fundraising goal by $45,000, but more donations and pledges are still welcomed. The campaign organizers held a reception at Western Hospital on Thursday to announce that the $600,000 capital campaign had been reached. Much of the targeted $600,000 will be spent on replacing the hospitals current X-ray machine with a state-of-the-art digital imaging machine. "The people of West Prince have, despite the challenges we are all facing as we enter into great change in health care, have displayed great courage by engaging in this major, major fundraiser, and have proven once again that it is the communities that are the heart of health care," said hospital administrator Cathy DesRoches. Now that the goal has been reached, DesRoches said an RFP (Request for Proposals) process will get underway. That could take about four months. The new machine, she said, will likely arrive within six to eight months from now. In the meantime, the current equipment is still in use, still under service contract, she pointed out. Its the money over and above the price of the new digital imaging machine that gives the hospital and its Foundation some flexibility. DesRoches said the additional money will allow for a new blood analyzer to be purchased for the lab, as well as new equipment for the physiotherapy department and more comfortable furniture for older patients awaiting long-term care placement. Campaign co-chair, Cletus Dunn, reviewed the two and a half month campaign which was launched April 15. Close to $400,000 was pledged that day, including $165,000 from the provincial government and $100,000 from the campaigns leader spnsor, Tignish Credit Union.

The Credit unions support was key, he said. "Its a lot of money, but the bigger part of that cheque was it made the whole process believable, and it showed the community that the Credit Union is behind this process. It made our job easier going out, because, if the credit union thinks its good, its good for everybody," Dunn assessed.

Larry Drouin, chair of the Credit Unions Board of Directors, thanked the HELP campaign for choosing the credit union as the leader sponsor. "As a major sponsor, we knew that it was very important for our members-owners that we proceed with the $100,000 major sponsorship. We know it is very important for health care in this end of the Island to keep this hospital going forward." In acknowledging of the credit unions leadership, Dunn said that once the new equipment arrives the diagnostic area will be renamed the Tignish Credit Union Diagnostic Center. Of the $645,000 pledged for the campaign, Dunn said about half of that total has already been received. The Hospital Foundation and Auxiliary each pledged $50,000 during the campaign launch. Since then a residential campaign generated about $50,000, local businesses and municipalities responded and many service groups and volunteer organizations either held fundraiser for the hospital or gave donations. A provincial campaign of large businesses that supply or service West Prince is ongoing, he reported. A Laughter is the Best Medicine Night in Tignish raised $22,000 and a staff trivia night on Wednesday brought in $1,700. "Remarkable things have happened," acknowledged co-chair Allan Parker.