St. Thomas hospital aims to raise $8M to give more patients local care
St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital officials on Wednesday launched an $8-million fundraising campaign they hope will allow more residents to get care in their own community.
The hospital's fundraising arm announced the start of the Transforming Tomorrow campaign, which will be focused on improving the diagnostic imaging wing and allow more local residents to be treated there, rather than travelling to London for care.
“Our community deserves access to the best possible care right around the corner, not in the next city over,” said Jeff Yurek, a former MPP who's helping to run the campaign. “The goal of this campaign is to ensure that our loved ones can stay close to home when it matters most.”
The money would be spent improving imaging equipment such as X-ray and ultrasounds, and also on the installation of a state-of-the-art MRI machine, officials said in a statement.
The St. Thomas hospital performs about 80,000 diagnostic imaging tests or procedures annually, and nearly every patient requires some form of imaging exam, officials said.
At Wednesday's kickoff, it was announced the FDC Foundation – a philanthropic organization established by Canadian billionaire Carlo Fidani – would match donations up to $1 million. Mary Lou Crowley, CEO of the hospital's fundraising arm, called their support "profound" amid the campaign.
“We hope their leadership will inspire others to give generously and help us achieve our goal of delivering transformative diagnostic imaging and care right here at home,” she said.
For more information about the fundraising campaign, visit https://www.steghfoundation.ca/transformingtomorrow
bwilliams@postmedia.com
Brian Williams, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, London Free Press
