Thanks to $3 million in donations from a single group during two separate fundraising campaigns, the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital will be getting new state-of-the-art equipment for its critical care expansion. (File photo)

By Jordan Davidson

huge donation

‘Blew fundraising goals away:’ millions donated for new equipment at Nanaimo hospital

Feb 14, 2024 | 5:25 AM

NANAIMO — State-of-the-art equipment is coming to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) sooner than expected, thanks to a record-breaking donation.

The Windsor Plywood Foundation recently donated $2 million to support NRGH’s High Acuity Unit (HAU), along with a $1 million donation in 2020 for the recently opened intensive care unit (ICU).

The combined $3 million in donations pushed the fundraising goals of the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation (NDHF).

“It blew the fundraising goals away,” said Barney Ellis-Perry, CEO of the NDHF. “We thought this campaign for the HAU, which is a second $5 million campaign, would take several years…we will be completing that (fundraising goal) in the next month or two, and that means the community has come together and made this commitment in basically under 18 months, which is unheard of, and we’re completely blown away by it.”

Ellis-Perry said the family of the Windsor Plywood Foundation have been active donors to the hospital since the early 90’s, which made this donation almost “a natural occurrence” thanks to the strong relationship.

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The most recent donation was made on behalf of one of the founders of Windsor Plywood, Randle Jones, who recently passed away.

“This money enables NRGH to have a state-of-the-art Critical Care Unit, which is a bit of magic for all of Central and Northern Vancouver Island because we are where the helicopters come. This is the ward that will take care of the most injured people and the sickest people in our community.”

The donation builds on a run of substantial donations made to NDHF, with the recent Winter Giving campaign netting more than $1.8 million.

In addition, nearly $245,000 raised near the end of 2023 for the NDHF put an exclamation mark on a campaign which aimed to raise $100,000.

Ellis-Perry said while they still have about $32,000 to raise to officially complete the ongoing fundraising campaign for the HAU, large donations like this prove the community is more than willing to help improve local healthcare.

“We need a catheterization lab for this community, and we need a new patient tower, and that is going to require significant amount of donations from this community as we’ve seen in communities throughout Vancouver Island. This is a really good sign.”

The HAU at NRGH, which will complement the hospital’s new Intensive Care Unit, is expected to be open next year.

The total cost of this project is now $60.1 million, shared between the provincial government, Island Health, NDHF, and the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District.

More information on the NDHF, including donating to the organization, can be found on their website.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow