Wallaceburg hospital fundraising halfway home
Hometown health care in Wallaceburg has hit another milestone.
The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation officially launched the Our Hospital, Our Future Wallaceburg Site Redevelopment fundraising campaign recently, with a goal of raising $9 million.
That's the community's portion of the build that will see a re-imagined emergency department and other state-of-the-art services. The project could break ground as early as the summer 2026, CKHA president and CEO Adam Topp told the crowd, with construction on the full-service emergency department to take an estimated two years.
'The next time we get this group together, we'll have our 20,000-square-foot building,' he said, noting he was excited to unveil renderings of the new structure that were on display at the event.
'We have been working really hard to make sure that the building we're going to build represents the community and the wonderful town of Wallaceburg,' he said, noting getting shovels in the ground could take up to two years.
According to Topp, the three-stage capital project is nearing the end of its second phase, with detailed drawings about to be submitted to the province for approval. After that, he said the project will go out to tender followed by construction.
The drive is already halfway to the goal. The Municipality of Chatham-Kent committed $4.5-million towards the redevelopment in 2023 and the Sydenham Ladies Auxiliary is pitching in $100,000.
A number of accomplishments in the site's redevelopment have been made in recent years. This includes the completion of the replacement power plant in 2022, made possible through a $7.3 million investment from the province in 2020.
A new medical daycare facility was opened in 2023.
The province has committed $42 million for the capital project.
CKHA Foundation president and CEO Christine Mitchell echoed Topp on the hospital's importance to Wallaceburg and area.
'This hospital isn't just a building – it's an important part of the history of this community, and today we celebrate that history while also looking towards a bright future for health care here in Wallaceburg and Chatham-Kent,' Mitchell said.
Mitchell called the fundraising launch exciting, noting donors can now see renderings and drawings of the new site – providing a concrete visual for donors.
'We want to continue to engage with the community, to invite them to be with us every step of the way,' she said.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor, who brought greetings on behalf of Chatham-Kent, said she's looking forward to standing on the site 'with a shovel' next year.
In his comments, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault praised his predecessor Monte McNaughton for taking up the cause to keep Wallaceburg's hospital open.
'Monte tirelessly advocated for this hospital,' Pinsonneault said. 'His deep commitment got us over the threshold of the province getting funding here. I'm looking forward to carrying on Monte's legacy.'
Officials also paid homage to the dogged determination of Save Our Sydenham – the grassroots group formed 16 years ago to stop the proposed closure of the hospital.
S.O.S. founding chairman Jeff Wesley and current chair Conrad Noel also took to the podium. Both men expressed their appreciation to officials and the community for making the hospital's renewal a reality.
'Thank you all for making a difference,' Wesley said, adding the fundraising drive is the final task remaining.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
The Alabama Justice Behind Last Year's Radical IVF Decision Is Running For Office
Jay Mitchell, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice behind the contentious ruling that effectively banned in vitro fertilization for a short period last year, announced this week he is running for state attorney general. 'With President Trump in the White House, we have a unique opportunity to get conservative wins here in Alabama,' Mitchell said in a Monday statement announcing his run. 'I'm running for Attorney General to stop the lawlessness, restore order, and dismantle Joe Biden's radical left wing policies.' Mitchell, a Republican, was elected to the state Supreme Court in 2019 and stepped down late last month. His first campaign video describes him as 'a law and order conservative' with 'the guts to protect our constitution.' In the statement announcing his run, Mitchell did not comment on IVF but said he would 'defend the sanctity of life' and 'no matter the cost, I will stand firm to protect the unborn.' 'Known for his strong conservative rulings and tough-on-crime approach to law and order at the Alabama Supreme Court, Mitchell is eager to take a more proactive role in implementing the Trump agenda as the state's top law enforcement official,' the statement reads. Reproductive rights are under attack. HuffPost is committed to reporting the truth, amplifying voices, and covering this fight with depth and care. Support our work by today. As state attorney general, Mitchell would be in charge of enforcing state laws around reproductive health care, including the state's near-total abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape or incest. The attorney general can choose to investigate and prosecute pregnant people for miscarriage and stillbirth — situations that have happened in several states since the fall of federal abortion protections. Steve Marshall, the current Alabama attorney general who is term-limited, pledged to prosecute women who used abortion pills or traveled out of state to get care (a federal judge recently ruled against Marshall). In February 2024, Mitchell and several other conservative justices on the court handed down a sweeping decision that granted embryos the same legal status as children — posing a direct legal threat to physicians and patients using IVF. Mitchell, who authored the brief, equated frozen embryos used in IVF to 'unborn children' under the state's wrongful death statute. '[T]he Wrongful Death of a Minor Act is sweeping and unqualified. It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation,' Mitchell wrote in the decision. The ruling forced three of the state's largest fertility clinics to pause IVF services. Providers scrambled to find answers, and many patients were forced to delay time-sensitive care with no promise that access would be restored. Jamie Heard, who lives in Birmingham with her husband, was one of the patients who had to pause care when the ruling came down. 'When that Supreme Court decision shut down IVF care, I think a lot of people don't understand that it didn't just impact clinics, it also shattered families,' Heard told HuffPost. 'To hear that the judge who authored that decision now wants to be attorney general is definitely frightening.' Mitchell wrote in his May resignation letter to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey that he was stepping down because he wanted to be more vocal about his political beliefs and further President Donald Trump's agenda. 'Serving on the Supreme Court has been the privilege of a lifetime, but my role as a judge limits what I can say and do for our state and country,' Mitchell wrote, according to Alabama Daily News. 'President Trump is moving boldly to restore the United States Constitution — and we must ensure that his agenda takes root not only in Washington, but also in the state. I feel called to play a larger role in that effort in Alabama.' Dr. Mamie McLean, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at Alabama Fertility, a clinic in Birmingham, was one of the providers whose clinic temporarily paused IVF services. When the decision came out, McLean was forced to cancel time-sensitive and costly appointments that devastated her patients. She told HuffPost at the time that those conversations with her patients were 'some of the most heartbreaking' she's had in her career. The state Supreme Court decision centered on a 2020 lawsuit in which three couples sued another Alabama fertility clinic and hospital for the 'wrongful death' of their frozen embryos, using a legal framework for bringing civil charges when a child dies. The couples' frozen embryos reportedly were destroyed by a patient who wandered into the cryogenic storage area where the embryos are kept and dropped them on the floor. The state Supreme Court's ruling essentially pushed the issue back to the Legislature, which passed a law protecting IVF weeks after the decision. 'We're tired of IVF being a political football,' McLean said. 'Just the suggestion that IVF would not be allowed in Alabama is creating extra worry and stress and that's not good for the men and women of Alabama. … It's important to the voters of our state that IVF is available and high quality.' The election for Alabama attorney general will be in November 2026. Current Attorney General Marshall is running for U.S. Senate. Heard has four remaining frozen embryos, which were moved from Alabama to Minnesota because of last year's political climate and due to storage costs. She hopes to one day give her son a sibling. 'We need leaders who protect families and not punish them or threaten their existence under the guise of quote-unquote politics,' she said. 'IVF is not a culture war issue, it's health care — and we won't forget who turned our path to parenthood into a political battlefield.' After Alabama Court Decision, Panic And Heartbreak In Fertility Clinics Trump Says He Supports IVF — But He Has Deep Ties To Those Who Oppose It Alabama AG Is First Republican Pledging To Prosecute Women Taking Abortion Pills Trump's IVF Executive Order Isn't 'Promises Made, Promises Kept'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Measles-infected baby dies in southwestern Ontario
Ontario's Ministry of Health has announced the first recorded death of a measles patient from the current outbreak that started in October. Dr. Kieran Moore, chief medical officer of health, issued a statement Thursday saying a southwestern Ontario infant has died after being born prematurely and infected with the highly contagious virus through the mother. Moore offered few other details. Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford and Elgin counties, confirmed the child was from a community in their coverage area. "The infant contracted the virus before birth from their mother, who had not received the measles, mumps and rubella [MMR] vaccine," Moore wrote. "While measles may have been a contributing factor in both the premature birth and death, the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus. "Out of respect for the family's privacy, no further personal or medical details will be shared." The death is the first in this outbreak, which at last count, on Tuesday, included up 2,009 probable and confirmed cases since it began on Oct. 28, according to the ministry. Ontario's case numbers are the highest number reported by provincial health authorities, as you can see by hovering over each province in this map: The death announced Thursday is only the second measles-related death Ontario has seen in decades, after an unvaccinated child from Hamilton who was younger than five years old died in May 2024. Previously, Moore shared that this outbreak in Ontario was traced back to a Mennonite wedding in New Brunswick, and is spreading primarily in Mennonite and Amish communities where vaccination rates lag. The vast majority of those cases are in southwestern Ontario. The official case count in the current outbreak is likely lower than the actual number as many cases aren't being reported, health officials have said. Case counts have been highest in the areas covered by Southwestern Public Health, Chatham-Kent Public Health, Huron-Perth Public Health, Grand Erie Public Health and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. In May alone, 79 people were diagnosed with measles by Southwestern Public Health, which by far has the largest case count in the province. Seventy-five per cent of patients in that health unit were younger than 18. Those most at risk from the measles virus are unvaccinated children, health officials have warned throughout the outbreak. "Measles poses a serious risk to unvaccinated individuals and to infants in the early stages of life in particular," Moore wrote in the release Thursday. "Anyone who is unvaccinated is at risk and I urge everyone, but especially those who may become pregnant, to ensure they have received two doses of the MMR vaccine, which will protect both a parent and baby. This vaccine has been safely used for over 50 years and is highly effective. Two doses provide nearly 100 per cent protection." Officials in public health areas affected by the outbreak have told reporters they've poured resources into delivering that message to rural communities in different languages and through outreach to faith leaders. Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, whose response to the outbreak has been panned by opposition politicians in recent weeks, said she hopes the child's tragic death is a wake-up call. "I hope today's terrible news really refocuses people's conversations with their primary-care practitioners. Listen, this is real, this is impactful, and as we have seen this week, sometimes can lead to death," Jones told reporters. Jones also said the ministry is working hard to convince parents to vaccinate themselves and their children. She said letters have been sent to schoolchildren and their parents, and there's been ministry collaboration with health units and a "multimillion-dollar social media campaign." She also pointed to a directive the province sent to Southwestern Public Health and other health units in the fall, asking them to start offering measles vaccines to children earlier than the regular age. "You know, it's devastating when you hear about something, that we've had a measles vaccine in Canada and around the world for almost five decades, and yet we still have individuals who for many different reasons are choosing not to get vaccinated." Moore said measles is one of the most contagious diseases. Complications from infection can include pneumonia, brain swelling, premature birth and death. Those seeking vaccination are urged to contact their local health units.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
New zero-hour PE class, Spanish course materials coming to East Aurora High School
At its meeting on Monday, the East Aurora School District 131 school board approved two curriculum-related items that students at East Aurora High School will see when they return to class in the fall. The first is a hybrid physical education course for 11th and 12th grade students that will take place during the school's zero hour. Zero hour at East Aurora High School is held from 8 a.m. to 8.45 a.m., with the first class period beginning at 8:52 a.m., per the district website. The course will feature the same curriculum as other PE courses, East Aurora High School Principal Jennifer Mitchell said at a curriculum meeting in May, but will be offered during zero hour for the first time next year. According to a presentation from the district explaining the course, the class will be called the 'Tomcat Morning Prowl – Hybrid,' so as to differentiate it from other course names and ensure students understand what class and time they're choosing. The course will also be different in that it will function on a hybrid schedule, Mitchell said. Students will spend two days a week at the school for the course, but can choose their own workouts and complete them away from school the other days the class meets. They'll be given heart rate monitors to track their activity, and will submit the data from their monitors to their teacher. There will be no additional costs to take the zero-hour course, Mitchell said. In addition to functioning as a traditional physical education class, part of the goal is to teach students 'personal responsibility and accountability for their health and fitness,' Mitchell said, particularly as students prepare to graduate high school and transition away from structured PE classes and high school sports in favor of planning and doing their own workouts. The other change coming to East Aurora is new materials to be used for Advanced Placement, or AP, and Heritage Spanish courses at the high school. The materials being used currently date back to 2012, the district's Executive Director of Language Acquisition and Early Learning Rita Guzman told school board members at the May 19 curriculum meeting. In a memo to district Superintendent Robert Halverson, Guzman noted that the district needs updated materials in order to comply with language development standards related to the four domains of language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The new materials will be used by students in grades nine through 12. The district implemented a pilot program to test out materials, Guzman said, and then collected teacher and student feedback. Based on that, they decided on materials from Vista Higher Learning for both courses. These new materials will come at cost of $92,451 for the district, Guzman said. Both updates were approved by the school board Monday, and are set to move forward for next school year.
