By Lyonel Doherty
When it comes to health care philanthropy, Oliver is amazing, says the executive director of the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation.
Carey Bornn heaped praise on the community during a recent council meeting, where he updated the Town on the Penticton hospital expansion project.
He began by reporting that Oliver residents have donated $270,000 to South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) during the past 2.5 years. Approximately $80,000 of this amount came from the volunteer efforts of the hospital auxiliary, he pointed out.
Bornn said $250,000 worth of SOGH projects (and equipment purchases) have been completed during the past 2.5 years. These include: security upgrades, west wing patio renovation, vein finder, floor lift, tourniquet system, infusion pumps, chest compression equipment, stretchers, and IV pumps.
Bornn said another $350,000 has been pledged and donated towards the expansion project called the David E. Kampe Tower, which will be completed in spring of 2019.
Gifts have come from the local hospital auxiliary, the Rotary Club of Oliver, the Kiwanis Club and many individuals, he stated.
Bornn reminded council that the expansion project will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will include a new ambulatory care centre with cardio, respiratory, neurology, orthopedic, pre-natal and pre-surgical clinics; five new operating rooms; 84 single bed inpatient rooms; a new sterilization unit for medical equipment; a six-floor parking garage; and a UBC faculty of medicine training program.
Phase 2 will include renovations to the existing hospital that will feature a new emergency department and pharmacy.
Bornn reported that the South Okanagan and Similkameen area now has 190 doctors and 80 specialists.
He also stated there are eight new UBC medical students in residency.
Bornn touched on Kampe’s significant contribution ($13.5 million) to health care in the region. For example, he donated property now being used for parking during the tower’s construction phase. And in 2015 he donated $2 million toward the $20 million tower campaign. In 2016 he purchased a permanent MRI machine to replace the portal MRI.
Near the end of his presentation, Bornn praised the South Okanagan Hospital Auxiliary for doing a wonderful job of recognizing local needs and finding ways to raise money for those needs.
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