CALEB NICKERSON
shawville Sept. 11, 2019
The Pontiac Community Hospital Foundation has launched a new and improved website to make it easier to . . .
donate than ever before.
The website features facts about the foundation, which was founded in 1992, and “acts as an intermediary between the Pontiac community and the medical community to maintain and develop comprehensive local services adapted to the needs of our population.”
Board member Allan Dean explained that they are trying to attract more donations from the 25- to 50-year- old age category, who might not be as familiar with the role that the group plays in local access to health care.
“They really don’t know what the foundation is, or why it’s there,” he said. “It’s such a viable institution for this region, not just Shawville. We’ve got to maintain that hospital as much as we can.”
The site has pages that give a breakdown of what causes the donations go towards, with the recently-completed dialysis unit topping the list at $659,600. Between April 2018 and March 2019, there were 457 cataract surgeries performed at PCH, along with 1,046 endoscopy procedures, 25 Caesarian sections and 484 general surgeries.
Dean said that the board would be meeting shortly, and would be discussing the goal for their next fundraising campaign. He added that it’s easier to raise money for a specific project, like the dialysis unit, than general funds.
“We just finished dialysis and it was a huge project,” he said. “We need to focus on what’s next.”
Dean said that the website will be a tool for the foundation to let the community know what their next project will be and keep them informed about local health care issues.
“We’re hoping that just this website, which is just a minor piece of what we do, will just give the population a better opportunity to find out before they go and make a donation,” he said. “They’ll know a little more about what’s going on.”
