Officials with the St. Martha’s Regional Hospital Foundation’s fundraising campaign say they’re almost three-quarters of the way toward their goal of $20 million.
Steve Smith, the campaign chair, says they’ve received more than $14.5 million since they started in late Sept. 2016.
He says he believes provincial officials would be happier if they could send everyone to bigger hospitals in Halifax, but that wouldn’t be good for residents here.
Smith tells The Hawk the fundraising is important to keep services local.
“Doctors can go anywhere they want when they get out of medical school because everybody wants them,” he says. “We have to somehow keep our hospital modern so that we can attract them here.”
Smith says some people believe provincial officials should buy the best of everything, but they don’t have the money to invest everywhere, so it’s important to find local options.
He says some people feel they’ve been forgotten by provincial officials, which doesn’t help in an expensive industry, but hospital reps are pleased with the progress they’ve made.
“Healthcare is a changing market,” he says. “Many, many, new, exciting things are coming out, but they are very expensive.”
Smith says GASHA no longer exists, so they need to represent locals themselves, or it won’t get done.