Hospital foundation fund continues to grow

PENTICTON – The South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s fund raising campaign for the Penticton Regional Hospital Patient Care Tower continues to gain momentum as $400,000 more is pledged to the fund.

The Penticton Hospital Auxiliary and the gift shop at PRH have combined to make the pledge over a five year period. The auxiliary will provide $250,000, with the gift shop putting forward $150,000.

“The mandate for both is patient comfort and care. Most of our funds go to medical equipment anyway, so it fits within that mandate,” said auxiliary and gift shop president June Revell-Quevillon.

Revell-Quevillon hopes the donation will provide an incentive to other groups and individuals to make a donation to the campaign as well. The hospital auxiliary is made up of 26 members while 30 volunteers staff the gift shop, some of whom also do double duty on the hospital auxiliary.

“The hospital auxiliary and gift shop have supported Penticton Regional Hospital in every campaign, every year,” Executive Director of the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation Janice Perrino said.

“Their pledge is an incredible move forward for the hospital but also a huge undertaking for these volunteers. I have no doubt they will achieve their goal,” she added.

Construction on the patient care tower is expected to begin sometime in 2016. The project is a private sector P3 partnership and will include new surgical rooms, 84 single patient rooms and ambulatory care clinics.

A second phase will see renovations of the hospital’s present lobby and offices to become part of an enlarged emergency department.

The project’s private partner will be selected early next year.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.