> Home > About Us > News/Events

For immediate release:  October 29, 2007

Caring for Community campaign off to a smooth start
 
Haywood Regional Medical Center Foundation hosted a social meeting Monday night at the Maggie Valley Club to update donors and potential donors on the progress of the Caring for Our Community fund-raising campaign.

Two projects are included in the current campaign: a new Hospice and End-of-Life Care Center, which will cost $3 million; and a surgery and outpatient services center, which will cost an estimated $16.5 million. The goal of the HRMC Foundation is to raise $2 million within five years for the hospice building and $4 million for the new surgery building.

Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice has seen an 80 percent increase in patients served during the last five years, said Jenny Williams, HRMC Hospice program coordinator. Requests for services have increased by 22 percent since 2006, she said.

The hospice center will be built in two phases, with the first phase addressing the immediate needs of patients and their families during end-of-life experiences, said Dr. Michael Pass, HRMC Hospice medical director.

The second phase will provide an inpatient facility to provide hospice care. “Fifty-three percent of our patients choose not to die at home,” Pass said. The N.C. Division of Facility Services has allocated six beds for hospice care at Haywood Regional Medical Center, he said.

An estimated $1.5 million will be needed for the first phase, of which $1 million has been received in donations to date, Pass said. “We need $500,000 more before we can begin breaking ground for the center,” he said.

Medical center officials hope to begin work on the new surgery and outpatient services center by late 2008, said Eileen Lipham, HRMC vice president of professional services. “We were notified two weeks ago that the state (division of facility services) has approved our application for certificate of need to proceed with this project,” Lipham said. The timeframe for completion is 15 to 18 months, she added.

Financial commitments received thus far for the new surgery center total nearly $1.4 million, said Robin Tindall, director of HRMC’s Foundation.  In addition to donations, there are numerous naming opportunities for donors for both projects, Tindall said, beginning at $5,000 for the End-of-Life Hospice Center and $25,000 for the surgery and outpatient services center.

To make a donation, make a check payable to: HRMC Foundation, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, N.C. 28721.  Contributions are tax deductible.

For more information, call the HRMC Foundation at 454-9340.