A fundraiser to upgrade a Fredericton hospital's pediatric unit is nearing completion, and this weekend a Fredericton radio station stepped up to help.
Radio station 105.3 The Fox took pledges for the Chalmers Hospital Project, in exchange for a favourite song. They called it ‘Pay for Play’, a 50 hour live rock-a-thon with a donation goal of $5,000.
On Sunday, as the music played, pledges were rolling in. All of the money raised will go towards upgrading the pediatric unit.
Since being built in the 1970’s, the Everett Chalmers Hospital's pediatric unit has never been upgraded. It's something people at the hospital wanted to see change.
"I've been told that once we have the money raised, they're ready to go. I've actually seen the plans,” says Chalmers Hospital Foundation executive director Tammy Wood.
In 2014, 766 children were admitted to the Chalmers Hospital's pediatric unit. In the past two years, there have been 155 children discharged from the unit with a psychiatric diagnosis.
Part of the upgrades will go towards a specially designed unit for patients with psychiatric needs.
“It's a secure unit, especially designed for kids dealing with mental health issues. So right now, it doesn't exist at the hospital. There is special equipment and special furnishing that are needed to provide this secure atmosphere,” says Tammy Wood.
The end date for the project is two months away, but the fundraiser is still half a million away from its final goal of $2.2 million, the largest amount the foundation has ever tried to raise. After about a year of fundraising, they're at $1.65 million.
By the end of Sunday’s rock-a-thon, The Fox reached its $5,000 goal.
Wood says she feels confident the foundation will reach its $2.2 million goal when the campaign ends in December.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.
