South Okanagan Similkameen Meidcal Foundation executive director Carey Bornn, right, receives a $5,000 donation on Dec. 5 from the Osoyoos Rotary Club, part of a $30,000 total donation. Dale Boyd/Osoyoos Times

Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

The renovations to the emergency department at the South Okanagan General Hospital are set to complete in mid-January 2020, according to Interior Health.

Interior Health communications staff confirmed with the Osoyoos Times that the $980,000 project will be finished slightly past the original late-December completion date.

The renovations include a separate emergency department entrance for walk-ins, new waiting and triage areas, a quiet room for families and a relocation of administration services among other upgrades.

On top of the government-funded renovations, the South Okanagan-Similkameen Medical Foundation  has had success raising private donations for even more upgrades to the hospital.

The community has nearly reached the goal of $280,000 in fundraising for additional resources, with around $12,000 to go.

“We actually thought when we started this project back in June it would be a stretch goal, but the community has jumped in so enthusiastically it’s been really nice,” said Carey Bornn, executive director of the SOS Medical Foundation. “We’re on the home stretch.”

The foundation asked staff at the hospital what upgrades they would like to see on top of the government-funded improvements. The foundation helped raise funds for permanent stations for various medical gasses which are currently rolled from station to station, a new nurse station and additional medical equipment.

Read more: Fundraiser to boost South Okanagan General Hospital

A donor recently purchased some beds for the hospital as well, with a number of bed replacements still needed.

A recent large donation has also replaced a number of the computer stations. SOGH was one of the first hospitals in Canada to completely digitize their operations 13 years ago, but some of the computer systems were in need of replacing.

“We actually, just about two months ago, we ordered a set of computers for those that needed to be replaced through a donor who supported that,” Bornn said. “Lots of good things happening is the bottom line.”

There are always improvements to be made and the work of the medical foundation is never done.

“There’s some other things we’re still raising money for over the $280,000,” Bornn said.

Visiting the Osoyoos Rotary Club on Dec. 5, Bornn was asked if he is confident the hospital will stay open. Visits to the emergency ward have gone from eight per day when the hospital first opened to roughly 50 visits a day now.

“They are not going down. That’s why the investment is there. We need that facility for what it’s doing. We also have a growing community, they can’t transport everybody to Penticton, just the transport is too costly,” Bornn said.

To donate to the SOS Medical Foundation call 250-492-9027 or visit sosmedicalfoundation.com