ABOUT & INFORMATION

Our Vision:  To provide extraordinary support for health care in cottage county.

Working together with health care professionals, patients, our community and government, The West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation’s goal is to continually raise funds to support the on-going medical needs of the people who choose to live and cottage here.

Serving a population that fluctuates from 21,000 upwards to 121,000 during the peak summer season in the Parry Sound area, the West Parry Sound Health Centre’s services are diverse.  The unique bundle of programs offered would not be possible without the generous support, commitment and dedication of our community.

Our three main lines of business at the West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation are: Fundraising, Investment Management and Stewardship.

Our Values

• Passion for Care
• Partnership
• Innovation
• Accountability

Our Goals

Fundraising:

To meet the current equipment needs of the Health Centre, the Foundation’s goal is to raise $2 million in fundraising revenue by March 31, 2018 (end of the 2017/2018 year). The Health Centre is embarking on a $10,000,000 Electronic Health Records investment and the Foundation is committed to raising that money over 5 years. In 2016/17 the Foundation grossed $2.561 million (including $233,329 received from the Auxiliary for specific equipment needs). The Foundation transferred $1,438,893 of donated money to the Health Centre in 2016/17 for priority equipment and securred $1,000,000 towards the $10,000,000 required for EHR.

Currently, the Foundation holds $2.875 million in its endowed fund (as of the end of the 2016/2017 year). All estates received by the Foundation are transferred into our Forever Fund (endowed fund). Interest/dividends from the invested capital on this fund annually buys equipment on the medical priority list.

Money Transferred to the Health Centre:

In 2017 the Foundation is buying $352,625 worth of needed equipment with a goal of transferring an additional $1,000,000 towards the EHR installation.  The million will be further payment on the $10,000,000 Electronic Health Records (EHR). Currently of the 154 hospitals in Ontario only 8 function without EHR. Sadly, we’re one of them. Fixing that will take extraordinary donor support!For details on transfers please read our Donor Impact section.

Investing:

To achieve a competitive rate of return in the General and Restricted fund given the short-term nature of our payment commitment.

Operational Efficiency:

To honour our Donors and direct their donations to providing extraordinary health care in cottage country.

The West Parry Sound Health Centre — helping you to ‘stay put’ in Canada’s rugged grandness.

Providing extraordinary support to keep hospital care local.

On April 8, 2005 through the combined efforts of seasonal and year-round residents and all three levels of government, a new health centre opened in Georgian Bay cottage country. Situated several hours away from larger centres, the 70-bed acute care facility is an innovative health care institution co-located with Lakeland Long Term Care, home to 110 residents.

The Foundation’s challenge is to secure the funds to ensure the Health Centre stays current with technologies that best serves our population that fluctuates annually from 21,000 to 110,000 people during the peak summer season. The health centre has a history of strong financial management along with the delivery of exceptional services in community health care.

Management

• Celebrating 21 years as a voluntary amalgamation of two hospitals – 11 years with a new hospital on a single site.
• Achieving ambitious goals established and monitored by a volunteer competency-based Board of Directors.
• Accredited with Exemplary Standing by Accreditation Canada in 2014.

Programs

The health centre has always employed an innovative planning approach aimed at integrating services. Faced with the challenges of relative isolation between larger health care providers in southern and northern Ontario, WPSHC has partnered in regional alliances and created internal programming solutions that have benefited patient and family centred care through improvements to primary and acute-care service delivery throughout the catchment area, and beyond. What results today is a highly integrated healthcare organization that includes: Lakeland Long Term Care; six primary care Nursing Stations staffed by Nurse Practitioners who work in collaborative practice with a visiting physician; management of the District of Parry Sound land ambulance service and dispatch; and a full range of in-patient and out-patient programs, including a full-time 24-7 Emergency Department.

WPSHC operates the Ontario Massasauga Rattlesnake Antivenom Depot, managing the supply of this valuable medicine and setting the treatment guidelines for clinical professionals throughout the province.

Partnerships

• Working with area municipalities to provide land ambulance (EMS), 911 services and dispatch.
• Haemodialysis (kidney dialysis) in partnership with Health Sciences North.
• Chemotherapy in partnership with Health Sciences North.
• Out-patient laboratory services in partnership with Gamma DynaCare.
• Out-patient psychiatric programs with CAMH, University of Toronto, and Community Mental Health services.  
• WPSHC is a Comprehensive Community Clerkship teaching site for third-year students enrolled in the Northern School of Medicine. The health centre maintains strong learning partnerships with Canadore College and Cambrian College, other post-secondary institutions, and the Near North District School Board. The health centre is a partner in numerous educational agreements.

PHILANTHROPY is based on voluntary action for the common good.  It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life.  To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

• • To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

• • To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

• • To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

• • To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

• • To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.

• • To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

• • To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

• • To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization, or hired solicitors.

• • To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from our mailing list and to know that the West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation never share lists with other organizations.
• • To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers.