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The Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation (the Foundation) is celebrating a $500,000 gift from the Cockwell Family and Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd. This is the largest single corporate gift to be received by the Foundation to date, and will support Diagnostic Imaging at Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS).
“As a major employer in the County we want to ensure that our employees, their families, all residents and visitors to the region have access to life-saving diagnostic tools locally, if and when they need them,” says Malcolm Cockwell, Managing Director of Haliburton Forest. “We are honoured to make this gift to help ensure the best healthcare resources are available in the area. I hope that this gift will encourage others to support this important initiative.”
The Foundation announced the fundraising target of $4.3 million for the expansion of Diagnostic Imaging services at HHHS in the fall. Soon afterwards, Haliburton County committed $1 million to the campaign. “We are very appreciative that Haliburton Forest and the Cockwell Family have made this significant contribution,” says Tayce Wakefield, lead volunteer for the Diagnostic Imaging campaign. “Along with the County commitment, this is a strong start for our fundraising campaign to improve local healthcare services.”
Local leaders applaud this transformative gift “It is extremely heartening to see such a substantial donation being made by local private enterprise,” says Haliburton County Warden Liz Danielson. “Our sincere thanks are extended to the Cockwell Family and Haliburton Forest for this significant contribution towards healthcare in the County.
“With this gift, Malcolm Cockwell and Haliburton Forest have demonstrated the kind of business leadership we know exists across the County,” says Murray Fearrey, Mayor of Dysart et al. “We thank them for their contribution and encourage others to consider supporting this important campaign.”
The new Diagnostic Imaging suite is currently under construction and the CT scanner is expected to arrive in June. The most modern digital mammography unit is expected later this year. “It is exciting to see this transformational gift make an immediate impact. We are grateful to the Cockwell Family and Haliburton Forest for this gift in support of the Diagnostic Imaging expansion at HHHS,” says David Blodgett, Chair of the Board of the Foundation. “This gift is a further example of the exceptional generosity of those who live, work and visit the County.”
This positive impact speaks to the theme chosen for this campaign: ‘Here for You’ says Melanie Klodt Wong, Executive Director of the Foundation. “I recently spoke to a medical radiation technologist who mentioned that having services side-by-side will positively impact the experience of their patients. ”The new equipment will significantly improve the quality and speed of access to diagnostic imaging services for patients and is the first step in building a strong complement of healthcare services in the County that are Here for You, when you need them.
The volunteer fundraising team led by Wakefield has representatives from across the County including Kurtis Bishop, Bob Bullock, Michael Harrison, Peter Henry, Pat Kennedy, Mike McKeon, Klara Oyler, Roger Trull and Dale Walker supported by the HHHS Foundation Board of Directors.
To learn more about how HHHS is Here for You visit the Foundation website. For more information about the campaign and to discuss how you can get involved please contact, Executive Director, Melanie Klodt Wong (mklodtwong@hhhs.ca) 705-457-1580.
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