The Portage District General Hospital Foundation presented $3 million last week to the new hospital construction project. Executive director Tara Pettinger explains in cooperation with the government, a community contribution requirement is in place to generate a memorandum of understanding in partnership with Southern Health-Santé Sud.
“It was an amazing feeling to work together and collaborate with Southern Health-Santé Sud,” says Pettinger. “To come to an agreement on the amount and then, thankfully, because of the foresight of previous boards and the outstanding support of the Community over the years, it feels really great to be able to make this community contribution on behalf of the community. Everybody has been so generous over donations over the past many years, knowing that this was such a significant need in our community, and that one day, we would look forward to a new hospital announcement which has come now and we were able to have the money to be able to meet their requirements.”
The project’s community component requires an amount to be provided that is a certain percentage of the overall cost of the build. The Foundation thanks the public for supporting this requirement and making this cheque possible and fulfilling the community’s part.
She adds a key element involved in paving the way for the donation is that, despite it being a new facility with ever-changing technology, within healthcare, they understand that they’ll continue to get requests. Pettinger notes, that even before opening, more will be required.
“So, we’re going to keep running fundraisers and look for donations and things like that, because we know that the needs will continue, even within a new facility. Healthcare is ever-changing and we want to do our part to help provide that superior healthcare experience for everyone in the community.”
