Provided support for the annual Sundre Hospital Legacy Gala continues to remain strong, the community could well see the construction of a new facility get underway sooner rather than later.
While a brand new, state-of-the-art hospital to serve Sundre and the surrounding area remains many years down the proverbial road, the project is far from a fanciful pipe dream and at this rate might well arguably even become a reality in the foreseeable future.
But this worthwhile endeavour will not magically materialize with positive thoughts alone.
The successful completion will depend largely on the community throwing 100 per cent of its weight behind the initiative.
“That’s the biggest part to moving ahead with a project like this, is complete community engagement and involvement,” said Gerald Ingeveld, chair of the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee, which organizes the annual gala. See page 9 for the story.
Judging by this year’s turnout — the third annual fundraiser again sold out and a single major donation alone raised more than last year — we are well on our way.
Mayor Terry Leslie — who was among the numerous dignitaries to address about 250 people during the Saturday, Nov. 10 event — beamed with pride at the sight of such a flood of support. He said that kind of unwavering and committed community cohesion was responsible for initially ensuring the existing hospital was built 50 years ago despite an uphill political battle at the time.
“We owe it to the next generation to make sure we carry on a legacy that we’ve seen provided to us for the services we enjoy today,” he said during a video interview that was presented.
MLA Jason Nixon echoed a similar sentiment when he expressed confidence that the community would continue to fight for quality health care in Sundre.
But much work remains to be done. Efforts to coordinate with as well as lobby the government must not waver and will require a strong case to convince provincial officials to provide funding. The municipality will also need to determine and make available a suitable site for the new facility and ongoing fundraising efforts cannot abate.
However, the progress to date, we think, is nothing less than promising and potentially sets the stage for Sundre to sooner rather than later establish a new rural health-care legacy for the next half a century.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
