Chatham-Kent will not be contributing funds to the Four Counties Hospital equipment campaign.
East Kent Councillor David VanDamme brought forward a motion that would see a $20,000 contribution from the municipality over each the next 5 years since 42% of the hospital’s patients come from Chatham-Kent.
Foundation representative Tom Jeffery says he not sure why Chatham-Kent won’t support it, as other area municipalities have kicked in some funds.
“I know from the perspective of Elgin County, they gave us a $50,000 one time commitment, and they just donated over $3 million to their hospital in St Thomas,” Jeffery explains. “They understand the importance of health care in their respective communities.”
However, some councillors think this would have set a precedent, which VanDamme finds disappointing.
“It was a great opportunity for us to build a great partnership” VanDamme says. “One that we know works really well in the rural communities of East Kent and throughout the community, but just wasn’t in the cards tonight.”
Several councillors said they couldn’t support the motion since the municipality has never made a contribution to a specific equipment campaign at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance or other area hospitals.
