Radio-thon Raises Nearly $1-Million For Critical Outpatient Services At Saint John Regional Hospital
Our community continues to show its support for the Saint John Regional Hospital during the Love Your Hospital Radio-thon. The last four years of donations total $930,822 for Ambulatory Clinic 1, which provides critical outpatient services.
This year a total of $236,135 was raised in part due to a wide variety of generous corporate sponsorships and partnerships. Canaport LNG provided a $50,000 match, while the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation’s partnership with Acadia Broadcasting’s Country 94.1 and 97.3 The Wave radio stations directly involved the community in the fundraiser.
The community’s contributions were significant and showed a 40% increase in donations on the event’s day. This jump in donations occurred despite the pandemic keeping the fundraiser from being broadcast live on-location from the hospital.
“We are in the final months of the Foundation’s most extensive fundraising campaign. With 40,000 patients who visit Clinic 1 every year, the expansion will help create a better experience and meet future patient volume demands,” said Foundation President and CEO Jeff McAloon.
“The generosity of partners like Acadia Broadcasting, the staff at Country 94 and 97.3 The Wave and corporations like Canaport LNG, Radio-thon’s $50,000 matching sponsor and the community is vital to the advancement of health care across the province.”
In recognition of the Radio-thon’s impact and the gifts made in support of the project, the newly renovated Clinic 1 will have a space named after the annual fundraiser. While it’s uncommon to name a space after annual giving events, McAloon says this is a way to honor partners and over 2000 individual donations.
“The support of Clinic 1 over four years is a powerful example of how community engagement can transform healthcare,” said McAloon. “We felt an appropriate way to say thank you was to dedicate a space to memorialize the impact.”
The fundraiser, held on February 11, broadcasted stories from patients and health care providers for 12 hours on the Country 94.1 and 97.3 the Wave.
“Supporting our communities is at the heart of everything we do at Acadia,” said Chris Pearson, President of Acadia Broadcasting Limited. “Acadia staff at Country 94 and 97.3 The Wave in Saint John continue to outdo themselves every year to help make each Radiothon a success. Acadia is honoured to be able to provide the platform inviting the public to learn more about the needs of the Saint John Regional Hospital. We are very proud of our health care providers as we continue our support for them and The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation.”
Past “Love Your Hospital Radio-thons” have raised money for pediatrics equipment, education initiatives, a Surgical Imaging System, and bypass machines for the New Brunswick Health Centre. Since 2018, the Radio-thon has been focused on raising funds for the expansion of Ambulatory Clinic 1.
All proceeds from the Radio-thon will go towards the Clinic 1 expansion project, which will increase capacity to meet demand for future patient volumes. The number of visits annually is expected to exceed 46,000 in the next five years.
“This past year, we have all realized how important our hospital is and how hard health care staff work. Radio-Thon in support of Clinic 1 will enable the hospital to address much-needed improvements to the space, making life easier for staff and improving the quality of care for patients. To know that our sponsorship will make a difference for so many people is humbling,” said Courtney Jones, General Manager of Canaport LNG. “We are proud that we can continue to support and be a part of Radio-thon.”
This story is sponsored by the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation.