For more than 50 years, hospitals in Kingston, Ont. have provided care to the people living in the James Bay and Hudson Bay communities.
To recognize the continued care, Five Nations Energy Inc. (FNEI) made a $250,000 donation on Friday afternoon to the Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC).
“We’ve had this relationship now for 56 years, and not once during that whole time did Kingston and Queen’s University ever say no to us,” says FNEI CEO Pat Chilton. “So the relationship there, we just wanted to recognize that and, basically, our gratitude on behalf of all of the people that over the years have used that, came to the hospital.”
The unrestricted quarter-million in funding will be available for use towards important hospital projects — something there is no short supply of.
“The government doesn’t pay for any equipment,” says University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF) President and CEO Tom Zsolnay. “There are some exceptions if it’s cancer-related radiology equipment but, generally speaking, the hospital has to find the money somewhere else, outside of their operating grants. And so, philanthropy is one of those areas that is used to purchase that kind of equipment.”
For KHSC President and CEO Dr. David Pichora, the partnership has a personal connection — as he provided care in Moose Factory over 35 years ago.
“It’s great to be able to offer a service that they just can’t physically have in the small communities that they have up there,” Pichora says. “I was asking about people that I worked with in the hospital like, going back 20, 30 years. It’s a long connection and it’s a meaningful connection that has linked many, many people.”
The $250,000 donation is set to provide funding for new technology and innovation for the hospital facilities, ensuring the continued care of James Bay and Hudson Bay communities.