A campaign to raise funds for upgrades and renovations at Pender Memorial Hospital got a substantial boost this week with announcement of a $100,000 foundation gift.

According to a news release, the hospital plans to upgrade its CT technology and move the scanner to a larger space closer to the emergency department, where it can more quickly assess patients with traumatic injuries or illnesses.  Renovations include improvements to the lobby area to make it more comfortable, improve registration, add a gift shop and provide handicapped-accessible rest rooms.
 
The anonymous $100,000 gift, along with grants from other foundations from across the region and state, have brought the campaign more than half way to its $500,000 goal.
 
“The community support has been wonderful,” Ruth Glaser, president of Pender Memorial, said in the release.  “We appreciate the work our campaign committee is doing to spread the word and generate even more interest and funding for the project.”
 
Local resident Mike Taylor and Pender Memorial board member Bernadette Silivanch are leading the campaign committee, which also includes local physicians, business leaders and elected officials.
 
“The hospital is important to all of us,” Taylor said in the release.  “I’ve seen, through our own family’s experience, why it’s critical to have this resource. We need to do all we can to continuously improve the hospital and its technology.”
 
Located in Burgaw, Pender Memorial has been designated a critical access hospital because of its distance from other hospitals. It provides emergency, diagnostic, rehabilitation and surgical services as well as inpatient care, short-term rehabilitation and long-term nursing care.
 
Pender Memorial is an affiliate of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, the region’s tertiary hospital and trauma center. Although it is a public hospital owned by Pender County, it receives no local tax support to fund its operations or charitable care provided to those unable to pay.
 
“Providing exceptional medical care here where patients need it is a high priority for us,” Joseph Cooper, Pender Memorial’s chief of staff, said in the news release. “We are confident our neighbors will also see the importance of giving to this campaign to advance the care that’s available for them and their loved ones here in the community.”