The Wingham and District Hospital Foundation has received a massive gift.
Nicole Duquette-Jutzi, the Executive Director of Wingham and District Hospital Foundation, says Britespan Building Systems Inc. has made the largest single donation ever to the hospital.
"Britespan has contributed a $1 million donation towards our Caring Together campaign for a new CT scanner. A CT scanner is essentially a super powered X-ray, and it's quickly becoming the new standard of care. We want our hospital to be leading the way for a community of our size being able to get that top-of-the-line medical care," Duquette-Jutzi shared.
The Caring Together campaign has a fundraising goal of $2.5 million. This donation has set the hospital foundation well on their way.
"It puts us in a really strong position to be really confident that we can reach that goal. I know our friends at Britespan, as well as ourselves, hope that everyone sees this significant $1 million donation for what it is, which is a recognition that this is an extremely important project that will benefit our community for years to come," said Duquette-Jutzi. "And I know that they're hoping that will inspire others to join them in reaching the rest of the way to that goal to make sure that that vision for a well-equipped hospital that can serve us long-term comes to reality."
With this great start, Duquette-Jutzi thinks they can hit their $2.5 million goal quite quickly.
"At the pace we're going right now, which is very positive, we're looking at hopefully the summer to be able to say we achieved that goal, and right now we're looking at having the CT scanner up and running in 2025. Which I know can sound a long way away, but that's just next year, and in hospital world, that's really quite quick. Of course, we have to take into consideration that this is a huge piece of equipment, and our hospital's going to need some significant renovations to make space available," Duquette-Jutzi added.
Britespan has made many donations over the years to the Wingham and District Hospital Foundation, with this latest one representing the largest single donation by anyone in the foundation's history.
Britespan Co-owner Ben Hogervorst spoke to the gift.
“As a local family business, Rob Stute and I have always believed in the importance of supporting the local community. We have been putting money aside for several years now so that when the special need arose, we could step up and give in a big way. Wingham is where the majority of our staff come for their hospital care. We feel that responsibility to them and to our community," Hogervorst shared.
To learn more about the Caring Together campaign or make a contribution visit www.wdhfoundation.ca.
