Owen Sound Hospital can fund a variety of improvements thanks to $919,640 in donations from the Caring for Tomorrow Endowment Fund.
Brightshores Health System Owen Sound Foundation CEO Amy McKinnon said the endowment continues to grow with gifts from individuals, families, and estates. In 2023, $340,797 was added.
She revealed they were lucky enough over the past year to make a larger than normal donation from their endowment fund.
"The endowment fund is a very special fund that we have here at the hospital foundation where we preserve the original donations made to the fund," McKinnon explained. "And we are able to donate from the interest in the money that we make."
The Endowment Fund's Emerging Needs Fund provided $606,820 while the remaining $312,820 comes from Named and Special Purpose Funds.
"So our endowment fund this year, of the over $900,000 about $600,000 goes to Brightshores as high priority," she continued. "So it allows Brightshores to make the best decisions of what equipment is needed right now today and what makes the biggest impact on patient care."
The Caring for Tomorrow Endowment Fund was established in 1996 to enable donors to invest in a healthy future for people in Grey Bruce.
"We rely on community support to help purchase new equipment for our hospitals to do some facility renovation and to support our staff through education and training," McKinnon outlined. "It really means a lot for our community to support our local hospitals in such a meaningful way."
The Funding will pay for improvements throughout the hospital including an ultrasound unit for Interventional Radiology, a radioactive material storage cabinet for Nuclear Medicine, a cautery machine for Ambulatory Care, new microtomes for the Lab, and flooring in Diabetes. As well, $19,261 of the total will assist staff with continuing education.
With last week’s contribution, the Endowment has provided more than $8.4 million to the Hospital.
“For 2023/24, we prioritized $12.8 million of equipment and improvements across our hospitals,” said Ann Ford, President and CEO of Brightshores Health System. “On behalf of the entire leadership team, thank you to each and every donor who invests in our regional health care system. Your support ensures that we can continue to provide exceptional care well into the future.”