NEWS RELEASE
ROYAL VICTORIA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTRE
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Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) recently received a $350,000 cheque from the RVH Auxiliary. Not only is this significant donation the latest installment toward the Auxiliary’s $2 million pledge to the Hearts and Minds campaign, it is also a milestone.
This latest donation means the Auxiliary has hit the halfway mark - $1 million – of its pledge which will directly support the development of our Advanced Cardiac Centre and Child and Youth Mental Health program.
“Members of the RVH Auxiliary are extremely excited to have hit a major fundraising milestone. It is a real celebration for us to have announced that with this year's donation of $350,000 we have reached the $1 million mark toward our $2 million pledge to the Hearts & Minds campaign,” says Janice Williams, President of the RVH Auxiliary.
“What always amazes me is how the money is raised - literally, one dollar at a time. Our Cafe Royale and Victoria's Gift Shop are our top fundraisers, but the support we receive through Tag Days, Bazaars, Nevada Ticket Sales and our Vendor Program is continuous and astounding. Every member of our Blue Brigade who volunteers their time feels proud to be a part of the RVH Team and we all embrace the opportunity and realize the importance of supporting our health centre."
The “Blue Brigade”, as the Auxiliary and the RVH volunteers are affectionately known, play a significant role not only in the improvement of patient care but is a second set of hands to assist RVH staff, performing duties such as transporting patients, providing directions to visitors and completing clerical tasks.
“Once again the RVH Auxiliary is leading the way with their generous support of advanced cardiac care and child and youth mental health,” says Janice Skot, RVH president and CEO. “The Auxiliary is always the first to step up to the plate when the need arises, shown through a $5 million pledge to our expansion, a $1.5 million pledge to the Cardiac Care Unit, and now this most recent pledge of $2 million. We are humbled and inspired by the Auxiliary’s ongoing support and ability to raise funds.”
These funds will be directed to developing an advanced cardiac care program and a child and youth mental health inpatient program at RVH. Presently, neither of these services exist in Simcoe Muskoka and patients are often transported beyond the region to receive care.
RVH’s Hearts & Mind will fund the necessary equipment and tools for these programs as these costs are not provided by the provincial government and remain the responsibility of the health centre.
“I can’t stress enough the extraordinary difference the Auxiliary makes in our community, in our organization and, most especially, in the lives of our patients,” says Skot. “We are so fortunate at RVH to have such heartfelt support from the RVH Auxiliary.”
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