Around 30 donors were recognized in a ceremony last night for their contributions to the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation.
Chair Brian Wakelin says they have raised over 600 thousand dollars last year.
He says he was talking with someone with a hospital foundation in Toronto and was told that foundation doesn’t raise as much money as Saugeen’s.
Wakelin says 237 thousand dollars went to purchase a new ultrasound machine.
He says they also used the money raised to put up a nurses call centre, install a new elevator, and a new generator.
He says those items isn’t as fancy as emergency room equipment but are necessary to properly operate a hospital.
Wakelin says government doesn’t give all the bells and whistles and is overwhelmed by the generosity from the community.
He says it is important to get good equipment in order to attract new doctors and nurses to the area.
Wakelin says they have a grant application into the provincial government for a new emergency wing.
He says their emergency room has received twenty thousand calls this past year and staff are working in very tight quarters.
He says they will wait for a response to their application.
The list of donors includes 98 The Beach in Port Elgin and our parent company Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation
