On January 28, 2009, Fil Piccoli, Campaign Chair (right), announced that The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital's MRI & More campaign had surpassed its $6 million goal by $36,630.

"We're so grateful for the generosity of our community. So many people opened their hearts and their chequebooks. Our gifts ranged from $5 to $1,000,000 and we had close to 4,000 of them!," Piccoli said.  "Each gift, no matter what size, helped us bring new services and improved services to our Hospital."

The campaign proceeds will be used in three ways. First, they will pay for the new MRI machine (which began serving our community in August 2007). Second, they will help create an Emergency Mental Health Unit (EMHU) within the Emergency Department (ED), which opened in April 2009. Finally, the proceeds will equip a new OR suite, which will help Guelph General Hospital to become the Regional Centre for Vascular Surgery, thereby providing more and more complicated vascular (blood vessel) surgical services.

The campaign will result in better equipment and, ultimately, better care for the more than 180,000 residents within Guelph General Hospital's catchment area. It is also expected to reduce waiting times for those using the hospital's services.

"Certainly, we've already seen that in MRI services. Before our scanner arrived, residents used to have the longest wait time in the province. Now, our wait time is often one of the lowest in the province" commented Mike Sharma, Guelph General Hospital's Director, Diagnostic Imaging. Since the MRI scanner arrived, about 1,000 community members each month have and MRI scan.

The timing of the campaign was fortunate given the current economic climate. "We're glad that we kicked this campaign off when we did," said the Foundation's Executive Director, Suzanne Bone. "In healthcare, budget constraints are part of our everyday reality, and the need for community support of our Hospital never goes away. We recognize that our supporters are watching the economy closely, and we do appreciate that they've continued to make GGH one of their priorities."

"Much of what we do at the Hospital could not be done without the generosity of our community," said Guelph General Hospital President and CEO Richard Ernst. "I'm very grateful for the support of our amazing donors. It is such a strong message of support both for the hospital and for the community."