Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hospital foundation?
Hospital foundations are nonprofit organizations whose purpose is to improve the capabilities of their healthcare centre.
The Yarmouth Hospital Foundation in particular has been funding equipment purchases (as well as other healthcare-related objectives such as community grants, nursing scholarships, and much more) since 1970. Our stated mission is to support and enhance our hospital as a community and regional centre of excellence in healthcare.
Is the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation part of the Yarmouth Regional Hospital? Or visa versa?
They have very similar names, so the confusion is understandable! However, the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation is an entirely separate entity from the Yarmouth Regional Hospital.
We do work very closely with the staff here in the hospital as well as NS Health. (After all, they’re the ones who know what equipment or services are most needed!) However, we retain our independence and have our own board of directors, committees, volunteers, and staff.
Why do you have to raise money for a system that is already funded by the government?
The cost of healthcare equipment is so great that the provincial government couldn’t possibly fund every aspect of the system. This isn’t just an issue unique to Nova Scotia -– hospitals throughout the world function with foundations to help them. We step up to support and enhance healthcare wherever possible throughout our region.
How do you prioritize your fundraising efforts?
The foundation doesn’t make decisions on what projects to fund in a vacuum. We make sure to work hand-in-hand with the healthcare professionals at our regional hospital who tell us what equipment is needed most. Only after consultation with them does our board decide which projects/equipment to fund.
How does the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation raise its funds?
The foundation has been blessed with incredible donors. For decades, young and old alike from across the tri-counties have come together, giving to the great causes we have been fortunate enough to represent. Without the support of each one of our donors (whether they give pennies or thousands of dollars), we would not be where we are today!
What does the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation do with its funds?
The main goal of the foundation is to raise money for vital programs and much-needed equipment at our regional hospital. In the past few years alone, we have purchased numerous vital items, such as stretchers, fetal heart monitors, ultrasound machines, bladder scanners, ceiling lifts, and much more.
We also fund nursing scholarships (both at NSCC Burridge and the Dalhousie School of Nursing, Yarmouth Campus), annual community healthcare grants, and much more. We also help fund the Community Navigator Program (part of the Physician Recruitment and Retention Project) and provide annual support to the Dalhousie University South West Nova Family Medicine Residency Program.
What has the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation been doing with the $20 million donation they received in 2021?
In 2021, the foundation was amazed to learn that an anonymous donor had made an incredible $20 million donation to us. This unprecedented amount has enabled us to massively increase our impact in the local healthcare system.
A donation of this size can lead to understandable questions from the public (and this truly is a frequently asked question!) There is sometimes an assumption that the foundation would utilize these funds all at once to fund large-scale projects. Instead, the Yarmouth Hospital Foundations (just as most foundations do) invests large percentages of its funds. This allows the money to grow while enabling us to spend more money each year on vital equipment that hospital staff need. Instead of spending all of our funds at once and then being unable to help in the future, we make sure to grow our money and make donations (that are still quite large, often over $2 or $3 million!) every year.
