Tiny Township cemented its support for local health care this week with a second donation of $20,000.
The presentation was made to Gail Hunt, president and chief executive officer of Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH), and Nicole Kraftscik, executive director of the GBGH Foundation, at the committee-of-the-whole meeting Monday.
"You've really stepped up and supported us with the first gift of $20,000 and then an additional gift of $20,000, which is this," said Kraftscik. "It just really goes to show how committed you are to local health care.
"There will be recognition for this at our upcoming virtual event, which is airing this Saturday."
Kraftscik was referring to the foundation's Power of Giving Virtual Gala, a combination of the non-profit's Georgian Bay Pops event, which is typically in Thunder Beach in Tiny, and its annual gala, since in-person events have been cancelled.
"It's free for everybody to watch," she said. "It's airing at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22. You can register for free online."
The hour-long event features an online auction, patient stories, and a live performance by Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk.
Hunt said the pandemic has presented challenges for the hospital and its staff.
"Things have changed in every aspect of our lives since we last visited you at the office," she said during the meeting. "We've changed every aspect of our business. Preparing for and ensuring a constant supply of PPE's available and managing the stress of the pandemic on our team has been a daily conversation here for months."
For a while, said Hunt, all visitation and elective procedures were on hold.
"We've resumed some procedures and resumed limited visitation," she added. "We're continually adapting to the changing circumstances and we hope we can continue to open up more services, more visitation, bring our beloved and much-needed volunteers back."
What has remained constant even during the pandemic, she said, is the support from the community.
"We are so thankful for our loyal supporters, like the Township of Tiny, which enabled that preparation," she said. "We knew we could count on your township to be there for its hospital given the long history of generous contributions totalling more than $260,000 over the years."
Over this time, said Hunt, the township has been quick to respond with generous contributions to the hospital's most urgent needs, such as general equipment and pandemic-related purchases.
"We had to purchase additional beds, IV pumps, patient monitors, medication cards and a call-bell system, and we were able to because of Tiny Township. Thank you for coming to our aid," she said, adding the equipment and pandemic planning have cost GBGH well over $500,000.
Mayor George Cornell said he was looking forward to the event Saturday.
"As always, thank you for your work and your hard work at the hospital," he added. "On behalf of all of us, thank you to our community for our residents and our visitors, in terms of abiding by the health guidelines and acting accordingly. As a result, our numbers have been very, very good. We recognize we're certainly not out of this by any means and encourage the community continue that good work as we go forward."
