Tim Collins /News staff
The Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation has issued an invitation to the public to an open house at their new Sidney location.
The satellite office was actually opened in early May when the Foundation found that the extremely limited space they had at the Peninsula Hospital had become too small to allow the group to effectively carry out their work.
The Foundation, founded in 1985 by a group of peninsula residents who wanted to support their new community hospital, raises funds to help fund equipment and facilities at the hospital as well as funding the occasional program not funded through normal health care channels.
“We have had two rooms at the hospital since we started but in that time we’ve experienced a fair amount of growth. We found that, at times, we had up to six people working out of each room and that just wasn’t something we could continue,” explained Karen Morgan, executive director of the foundation.
“In that regard, the modest space we now have in Sidney has been a wonderful addition.”
Morgan recounted how she’s had many people come into the office to express their gratitude for the Sidney office, saying that they can walk to that new location and don’t have to pay for parking in the way they need to do at the hospital.
“Of course, in an ideal world, we would have looked to secure additional space at the hospital, but we know that the clinical departments there are vying for additional space and, of course, they have to be considered first.”
The expansion to the new location has naturally come with the to-be-expected growing pains, largely related to technology and trying to maintain and update the computers that have become vital to the foundation’s operation. Morgan chuckled when asked what the specific problems have been, saying only that it involved technology and coordination.
“The thing is that we’re now moving along quite smoothly, taking donations and planning events and the people at the two offices are in constant communication by email and phone,” she said.
The open house at the 9710 Third Street location takes place on Wednesday, August 23 from 4 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served and guests will have the opportunity to connect with foundation staff to learn about the foundation’s work on behalf of the community.
