This year marks an important milestone for the Sturgeon Community Hospital Foundation. For 25 years the foundation has been enhancing medical care for area residents with the help of its many donors.
Since its inception in 1992 donors have raised a staggering $10 million for medical equipment and programs, over and above what is provided by Alberta Health. The foundation receives all gifts to the hospital from individuals, businesses or groups. A volunteer board manages the foundation, initiates fundraisers, and promotes the hospital and its programs.
The funding is improving the lives of patients in numerous big and small ways in every area of the hospital. Over the years donors have contributed to buying something as grand as a CT scanner – that helps to diagnose internal medical issues – or as small as making patients and their families more comfortable when they are at hospital.
Foundation executive director Katrina Black says the foundation welcomes even small donations. She says donations have come from all corners of the area and donors have always been very generous in helping the Sturgeon Community Hospital address priority needs in the past.
“In a perfect world, government would provide funding for the basics. Capital Health assists the hospital for extras for the best patient care. Our mandate is to look after the underfunded priorities of the hospital,” Black said.
This year the foundation has set to improving the endoscopy area of the hospital in an effort to significantly reduce the wait times for procedures.
“We have a growing and aging community. Last year the Sturgeon hospital did more than 2,200 procedures, including colonoscopies. We hope with new enhanced equipment, we can significantly reduce the wait time for those procedures,” Black said.
The foundation has set $1 million as its fundraising goal in 2017. The annual fundraising gala this Saturday at the Enjoy Centre hopes to kick-start that campaign with a target of raising $300,000 from the gala alone.
Then the campaign turns to the community individuals and groups to help fulfill the goal.
Many foundations have increasingly become advocates in gaining more funding for their hospitals for needed programs and services as government funding has not kept pace with community needs and wants.
Just this week the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation announced a public awareness campaign to secure $1 billion from government to upgrade its hospital.
The challenge for hospital foundations including Sturgeon’s is to walk the line between raising money to enhance programs and services, while continuing to advocate for the provincial government to meet the needs for ongoing hospital operations.
For more than two decades the foundation has been helping to identify local needs and meeting them to improve medical care for local people. We don’t know when any one of us may need that care. Our challenge individually and collectively is to help the Sturgeon Community Foundation to respond to local needs. They are counting on us again, so let’s not let them down.
