A fundraiser in St. Marys that will help pay for much-needed renovations at the town’s Second World War-era hospital has nearly reached its goal following a pair of $300,000 pledges, including one from local taxpayers.
St. Marys politicians confirmed town hall’s donation on Wednesday.
“It’s important that we do everything we can to support our health-care workers and our facilities,” Mayor Al Strathdee said afterwards. “The situation is the other levels of government haven’t kept up to the need, so it isn’t a municipal responsibility but something we have to keep up and support in our community in order to ensure we have good healthcare.”
The public funds are accounted for in this year’s budget, Strathdee added.
“We felt very strongly we had to make a commitment to try and help the (fundraising) campaign be successful,” he said.
McLean Taylor Construction pledged $300,000 on the same day.
“We’ve always had a strong sense of community,” said Matt Holliday, a project manager at the local construction company. “Ever since the company was founded in 1960 we’ve always supported the local community so I think we just wanted to continue that tradition.”
A major $7.6-million renovation at St. Marys Memorial Hospital – the 72-year-old building’s largest upgrade ever – will begin next year, officials announced last month.
The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance – which oversees hospitals in Stratford, St. Marys, Seaforth and Clinton – has committed $2 million to the upcoming project. The rest will come from the St. Marys Healthcare Foundation, which launched a $3-million fundraising campaign last year that will bring its total contribution to more than $5 million.
The most recent pledges totaling $600,000 bring the campaign to within within $1 million of its fundraising target, said Cindy Bilyea, the foundation’s board chair. She described both pledges as “substantial.”
They’re extremely important,” she said. “McLean Taylor is a strong local business that has supported us in the past and continues to support us. We’re just very grateful for their donation.
“The town has always supported us in everything we do because they know how important the hospital is to us,” she continued. “If everybody gives a little we all get a lot. We hope we never need the hospital, but we are sure glad it’s there when we do.”