Windsor Regional Hospital fundraiser aims to pay for key hospital equipment

The foundation that benefits the Windsor Regional Hospital is making an urgent fundraising appeal to buy new patient equipment. 

It might come as a surprise to some that while the province pays for hospital operations and infrastructure, foundations like the one benefiting Windsor's largest hospital step in to purchase new equipment. 

"The government covers basically the infrastructure, the staffing and all that whereas the local community, they help and we support the equipment needs of the community," said Brandon Osborne, co-ordinator of financial and retail services for the hospital foundation. 

"We work together to provide the best possible care for the local community."

The foundation's appeals have been ramping up this month with the "Split the Pot" lottery, one of the ways the foundation raises money. It's a partnership between 68 Ontario hospitals and the ticket money is split between them, and 13 winners will be announced at the end of the month. 

Last year WRH's share of the lottery was about $80,000, and this year they're hoping to hit $100,000. 

"We've recently raised money for a 3D mammogram machine," he said. "That's been a really crucial piece of equipment. We've also been raising (money) for CT scanners. Those are obviously very, very important for the hospital functions. And then, just generally, wheelchairs. We've been buying a lot of those lately too as well."

The foundation also runs a golf tournament and ticketed fundraising dinners but private donations, like a recent $15 million donation from the Solcz Family Foundation to the region's new hospital, also help. 

Although this method of funding hospital equipment isn't new, one health-care critic says its far from ideal — though she commended hospital foundations for their "absolutely critical" role and communities for backing them. 

"Obviously, those communities that are larger have more capacity to raise money locally," said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition.

"The smaller communities, communities that are poorer will have less capacity to raise money. Often there's a big variability across the province. So no, it's not the best way to do it and it really doesn't make a lot of sense that …  the bricks and mortar of building hospitals is shared across the province, but the locality bears the cost for the equipment."

And while Osborne urges the community to participate and donate, he does offer some reassurance to the community. 

"We are never at a point where we are in a dire strait, where we don't have the equipment to take care of our patients at this time," he said. "But we always are looking to improve and to continuously buy new equipment to have the best possible care."