Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation announced on Thursday that it had raised $20.7 million dollars in donations for its new hospital, 125 per cent of its original community goal.

This past April, the Ontario government approved preliminary designs for the hospital along with its prior commitment to covering 90 per cent of the construction costs. The community portion of the fundraising is for covering the remaining 10 per cent of construction costs as well as costs for the purchasing of new equipment.

Local dignitaries including Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson‌, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Chief R. Donald Maracle, and Member of Provincial Parliament Todd Smith attended the Foundation’s “Back the Build” event where they made the exceptional fundraising announcement. As well, Rick and Debbie Dainard and family, were present to officially contribute their major donation of $1.25 million dollars to the community effort.

Now the foundation’s new goal is to raise $6 million more to cover additional construction and equipment costs (partially due to new provincial healthcare standards being developed). The hope is that this will be achieved by 2027, the year the new hospital is expected to be in operation. The next generation hospital is now projected to be 95,000 square feet in size, sporting smart technology, a CT scanner, and will have a Net Zero carbon footprint⁠—a potential first in North America.

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