The Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation is receiving a $1 million community donation in support of the hospital redevelopment project.
Capital Campaign Manager Mark Womack says the donation from Duncan and Lesley Hawthorne was presented on Canada Day.
“He is the former CEO of Bruce Power and they were incredibly generous,” says Womack. “It was probably one of our easiest gifts, we reached out and we said, ‘would you be willing to talk,’ and Duncan and Lesley came back and said, ‘nope, we are not willing to talk, we want to make a gift.'”
He says as a result of this donation, they will be naming the redeveloped emergency department the Hawthorne Emergency Department.
Womack says this recent donation puts the fundraising campaign around the $8 million mark of the $18 million goal.
“About a year and a half into the campaign and we are doing really well. We have still got about $10 million to raise over the next four years, which is our time commitment to the province and we are really optimistic that with people stepping up like the Hawthorne’s, that we are going to meet and possibly exceed that goal,” says Womack.
He adds the community has come out in force in support of the project with many residents and businesses making donations and pledges.
The project has been in the books for a while, and will redevelop the emergency department, the medical imaging department, the laboratory department, and other areas of the hospital.
“It’s going to give us about a 250 per cent additional space,” says Womack. “The last redevelopment of the Kincardine site of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre was back in 1985. It’s showing its age, you can only put lipstick on it so much.”
He adds part of the reason for the redevelopment is to also attract new doctors to the area.
“If you have a great hospital with phenomenal staff in it, doctors are going to want to come up here,” says Womack.
He says they hope to get shovels in the ground for the redevelopment in early 2027.
Those interested in supporting the fundraising campaign can visit the foundation website here or call Womack at 519-396-3331 ext. 4335.