BY ALEX GREGORY
The season of giving has arrived a bit earlier this year. The Bramalea Lions Club announced Wednesday morning that they will make a major contribution to the William Osler Health System Foundation’s new campaign, “Build Back, Together,” by matching donations of up to $1.5 million.
The campaign is aimed at boosting recovery efforts at the health system, which represents three hospitals in Brampton and Etobicoke, and seeks $10 million in funding. With luck, say, supporters, the campaign will be a shot in the arm for the local healthcare system after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly a year and a half earlier.
“We have all witnessed the intense demand placed on our hospitals during COVID-19,” says Mary Lou Pollock of the Brampton- Bramalea Lions Club. “The Bramalea Lions Club believes in supporting our community close to home, and that includes supporting local, quality health care.
We are urging the entire community to rally alongside us in helping Osler hospitals build back from the pandemic.” Although urgent and emergent surgeries continued to be performed throughout the pandemic, many nonurgent programs, services and clinics, including elective surgeries, were put on hold.
The health system says support is needed to fund essential surgical equipment to help reduce the backlog and replace ageing equipment. Funds raised through the campaign will purchase items such as surgical tables, anesthesia gas machines, laparoscopes and camera heads, and an AV surgical integration system.
“It is only through the generosity of our entire community that Osler hospitals will be able to build back from COVID-19, and this incredible gift from Bramalea Lions Club will no doubt inspire others to follow their lead,” said Osler Foundation president and CEO Ken Mayhew in a statement Wednesday.
“Together, our community has faced some of the most challenging times. And it is together that we will begin to recover from this global pandemic.” Interested donors can contribute by visiting the Osler website at oslerfoundation.org or by calling (905) 863-2440.
