MRI Campaign touches down with celebration event

By CKDP Staff

On Thursday (Dec. 17) the Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance hosted a Making the Right Investment – MRI Campaign ‘Wrap-Up’ Celebration to acknowledge successful completion of the two-year fundraising Campaign.

On December 9, 2009, the Foundation announced that the MRI Campaign’s $3.5 million fundraising goal had not only been achieved, but also surpassed.

To date, $3,553,750.97 has been raised for the MRI Campaign.

Making the Right Investment – MRI Campaign was launched on December 17, 2007, with Dave Gagner, Honourary Chair, MRI Campaign, Dr. John Button and Dr. Main Yee, Co-Chairs, at the helm. Today’s celebration recognized the accomplishments of the MRI Campaign Cabinet, the Foundation staff and volunteers and the residents and businesses of Chatham-Kent for their tremendous support.

“Having the opportunity to celebrate the successful completion of the MRI Campaign on the two-year anniversary of its launch is exciting,” said Dr. John Button, Co-Chair, MRI Campaign. “In less than 24 months, through economic uncertainty, we were able to come together as a community to achieve a significant goal to enhance local health care for the residents of Chatham-Kent today and for the generations to follow.”

The MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine is a high-performance, non-invasive and clinically-proven diagnostic scanner that captures well-defined images of the body’s internal structures, increasing a doctor’s ability to provide timely diagnosis for serious muscle/bone, cancer, heart and brain conditions. Until the installation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s new MRI machine in July 2008, residents of Chatham-Kent experienced a one to six month wait or had to travel over an hour for this vital service. To date, 5,686 scans with the new MRI machine have been performed on 4,855 patients, with 15-18 patients scanned per day.

“To say ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem like enough,” said Michele Grzebien, Executive Director, Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. “But, thank you Chatham-Kent for your immensely generous support of the MRI Campaign. With hard work, dedication and determination we were able to significantly, and permanently, impact the quality of health care in Chatham-Kent. A sincere thank you, congratulations and ‘Happy Holidays’ from the Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.”

About the Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance

The Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance was established in 1998 to enhance the quality of health care available to the citizens of Chatham-Kent by raising funds and providing other resources to support Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. It accomplishes this through annual campaigns, capital and endowment campaigns, memorial giving, special events and planned giving. To date, the Foundation has raised over $28 million.