Physicians thanked for dedication; board provides financial update
At the Upper River Valley Hospital Foundation’s 2023 Annual General Meeting on Sept. 26, the inaugural chairs of the foundation were honoured.
Past Chairman Dr. Wayne McLaughlin and past Vice-Chair Dr. WIlliam Mutrie helped resurrect the foundation in 2021, 15 years after the Carleton Memorial Hospital Foundation disbanded.
“The Foundation has raised nearly $3.3 million in the first two years and has invested nearly $1 million so far,” reported former treasurer and current co-chair Andy Lenehan.
Co-chair Betty Lou Craig noted that the number is impressive when you consider the amount came from a mere 104 donors.
The foundation has raised nearly $2.3 million for the URVH MRI project and hopes to secure the last $700,000 soon.
During the meeting, URVH Chief of Staff and Colorectal, General and Laparoscopic Surgeon Dr. Gurpreet Singh Ranger shared how the foundation’s donations have positively impacted the hospital’s ability to provide quality care, pointing to specific purchases and explaining how the new equipment has impacted patient outcomes.
Facility Manager Sherry Leech spoke to the hospital’s importance within Horizon Health, highlighting the facility’s mandate to provide hip and knee surgeries to provide more access in the province to joint replacement surgeries to reduce wait times.
“We asked the Department of Health to look at us differently than they have, and that is why we now have hip and knee surgery,” Leech explained.
In honouring Dr. Mutrie and Dr. McLauglin, Foundation Co-Chair Betty Lou Craig explained they wanted to present them with something just as unique and special as the two men who helped revive the foundation and helped raise an impressive amount of money in such a short time.
The blown glass sculptures are each unique and inscribed with each doctor’s name and the words, “Co-Founder of URVH Foundation, Inspiring Others with Vision and Dedication.”
