Tower campaign now entering home stretch

Foundation $2M from $20M target

As construction of the new tower at Penticton Regional Hospital nears completion, the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s 13th annual Tree of Dreams campaign again focuses on the medical equipment required.

The SOS Medical Foundation has just over $2 million to go in its $20-million fundraising drive. Tree of Dreams brochures have been mailed to households throughout the region as the first phase of the PRH expansion enters the home stretch.

Carey Bornn, executive director of the SOS Medical Foundation, says the importance of the fundraising campaign can’t be understated.

“Because the final stage of any charity fundraising effort is always the toughest, our Tree of Dreams campaign takes on special significance this year,” Bornn said. “We can’t thank our donors enough for their support.”

Since the campaign’s launch in 2015, donors throughout the South Okanagan Similkameen have contributed more than $17.8 million.

Construction of the David E. Kampe Tower will be substantially completed by mid-December and will open to patients on April 29, 2019. The six-storey building will include 84 new single-bed patient rooms, a permanent MRI, five operating-surgical rooms, ambulatory care clinics, nuclear medicine suites, expanded space for the UBC Faculty of Medicine and a 480-stall parkade.

Work will begin next summer of Phase 2 of the $312-million PRH project, including a major upgrade to the emergency department.

Tree of Dreams donations can be made by returning the postage-paid brochure form by mail or by donating online at sosmedicalfoundation.com.