The finish line is in sight for the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation's goal to raise nearly $3 million for a new and much-needed treatment area - thanks, in part, to a $1-million donation from an anonymous donor.
This week, the foundation announced it's nearing the $2-million mark in their campaign to raise funds for the new multipurpose interventional suite that will greatly expand the hospital's capacity to help cardiac and stroke patients. Currently, a third of cardiac patients have to travel outside the Fraser Health region to get care.
"We're really, really, really close (to the $2-million mark)," Adrienne Bakker, foundation president and CEO, told The Record on Thursday.
Bakker said the first $1 million was raised through a combination of corporate sponsors, local organizations and individual donors, with donations of all sizes.
"We've had tremendous response from individual sponsors - we went out the gate in the spring with our direct mail to more than 6,000 active donors," she said.
"There are people who are giving $20 a year, and it all adds up," she said.
Additionally, she notes, there have been a number of corporate donors who have made significant donations and who often are ongoing and loyal donors year after year.
The second $1 million was an unexpected but wonderful surprise.
"It's a family that doesn't live in New Westminster who appreciates the care they received here," Bakker said.
"People care about RCH so much and (appreciate) the care they or a family member have gotten here. ... That often makes them want to come back and give something," she said.
Though RCH is often thought of as a "local" hospital, Bakker says in fact that only 19 per cent of patients come from New Westminster - 35 per cent come from the Tri-Cities, 14 per cent from Surrey and the rest from Burnaby, Langley, Maple Ridge and beyond - because the hospital is a regional facility for trauma, neonatal and critical care services.
The multipurpose intervention suite is already under construction, with completion expected in mid-2012.
Bakker says the current cardiac catheterization labs in the hospital are running over capacity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"This is where the expertise is," she said.
As for the fundraising, Bakker says they'd like to see the campaign wrapped up by the end of 2011, but they'll continue into 2012 if needed.
"It would be ideal to see that $2.8 million come by calendar-year end, but we do have a longer period to raise the funds - our commitment to Fraser Health is to have those funds raised and dispersed to them by (the completion of the construction)."
The foundation estimates that in the first year, the interventional suite will allow the hospital to implant 650 more pacemakers, provide more than 4,800 cardiac catheterizations which diagnose critical cardiac disease, and implant 100 internal cardiac defribillators.
The hospital foundation faced criticism over the summer when it announced that its new home-lottery campaign had lost money with lower than expected ticket sales, forcing the foundation to dip into reserves and sell some of its investment portfolio to recoup losses.
But Bakker says that hasn't hurt the interventional suite's fundraising.
"I think if anything, the impact has been very motivating, with people saying 'Wow, RCH is a great hospital, we want to see this campaign succeed," she said.
"People are feeling badly that this happened, they recognize this hospital is so important to the community, the region, to the province. ... We've had so many calls of support," she said.
In fact, she notes that direct donations have gone up since then.
"People are more interested in giving directly than a lottery. We've had nothing but great support," she said.
To learn more about the foundation or the campaign, see www.rchfoundation.ca.
