The Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation has received a $3 million gift — the largest donation in its history.
The donation from J&W Murphy Foundation will be used for the African Nova Scotian Healthcare Bursaries, the Geriatric Care Nurse Practitioner Program, palliative care, and to purchase equipment and technology.
According to a news release from the hospital foundation, the annual bursary program will support African Nova Scotian and Indigenous learners who want to pursue health-care careers. Meanwhile, the upgraded palliative care unit will see up to 10 rooms retrofitted to better serve patients and families during the end-of-life journey.
The gift will also help the hospital purchase its first MRI, which will be equipped with a special orthopedic package to help patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. It’s expected the MRI will increase Halifax Regional Municipality’s imaging capacity by 400 scans per month.
“Many patients in HRM now must travel up to 150 kilometres away to receive an MRI scan, resulting in significant delays in diagnosis and treatment. In emergency situations, patients would no longer need to be transported to Halifax for an MRI scan, saving time, money, and possibly lives,” according to the foundation.
The gift is part of the hospital foundation’s Lead On Capital Campaign, which just launched.