**TIMMINS DISTRICT HOSPITAL FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE**

Timmins, ON – Although it may not feel like spring in Timmins, preparations are well under way for the Timmins and District Hospital Foundation’s 20th Annual Spring Gala to be held at The Senator Hotel & Conference Centre on Saturday, May 5, 2018.

The Spring Gala is a fundraising event for Timmins and District Hospital hosted by the Foundation and its generous sponsors. This event has enjoyed 19 years of success and continues to be one of the Foundation’s largest single sources of fundraising. Since its inception, the Spring Gala has raised almost $3 million that has been used to purchase medical equipment for the patients of the Timmins and District Hospital (TADH).

This year’s Spring Gala is sponsored by Wallbridge Wallbridge and our objective is to reach $200,000 which will be earmarked for the purchase of equipment for the Maternal Child Program (obstetrics) at TADH.

“Thanks to the generosity of James and Almeda Wallbridge, most of the money raised during this evening of first-class food and entertainment will go directly to the cause,” stated Patricia Gaudreau, Foundation assistant executive director. “We are very grateful to the Wallbridges for their continued support of the Foundation and for sponsoring this twentieth anniversary celebration of the Spring Gala which is synonymous with quality, excellence and prosperity,” continued Gaudreau.

“We are delighted to sponsor the spring ball this year,” said James Wallbridge. “This is an event that has become a strong tradition in our community. It is a rite of spring in Timmins after a long winter and it is a great fundraiser for our hospital. Almeda and I were happy to be asked and happy to help the cause.”

Items being purchased for the Maternal Child Program (obstetrics) with proceeds from this year’s gala include a warming table ($80,000), 6 fetal monitors ($90,000), 2 nitrous oxide units ($20,000), and 2 bili blankets ($6,000). Krista Plaunt RN, Maternal Child Program staff educator, explained how this equipment will improve care for babies born in our Hospital.

“Approximately 750 babies are born in our Hospital every year,” stated Krista Plaunt RN, staff educator, Maternal Child Program. “This equipment will be very beneficial to both baby and mother,” added Plaunt. “It allows us to keep moms and babies together, and decrease length of hospital admission time,” explained Plaunt.

“We are very appreciative of the Foundation for the assistance they provide in purchasing equipment for our Hospital,” stated Vicky Bernard RN, manager of the Maternal Child and Mental Health programs at TADH. “The equipment being purchased for our nursery will benefit families from throughout the district for years to come,” added Bernard.

Three hundred guests dressed in their absolute finest are welcomed into the exquisitely-decorated Grand Ballroom where they are treated to an evening like no other in Timmins. A luxurious ambiance is created and many rare and wonderful items are made available to those in attendance by means of both a silent and live auction.

Tables are selling quickly for the Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Spring Gala event to be held on Saturday, May 5th, 2018. Groups are encouraged to purchase a table for $2,500 (10 seats at $250 each) by contacting the Foundation office at 705-360-6039 or by emailing Patricia Gaudreau at pgaudreau@tadh.com.

Individuals or businesses interested in becoming a sponsor for this event and/or donating a coveted item for our auction, can contact the Foundation office or any of the following committee members who are generously donating their time and expertise to the cause: Gord Cowie, Dianne Denault, Jason Gervais, Jessica Gervais, Kraymr Grenke, Line Levasseur, Iain Martin, Sue McArthur and Mary Ellen Pauli.

This year’s Spring Gala will not include the lottery which, historically, sold tickets at $500 each before and during the event. The Foundation will be holding a lottery that will be more affordable to the general public in the fall of 2018. Stay tuned for more information this summer.

From the James Bay coast to Engleheart, from Hearst to Kirkland Lake, Timmins and District Hospital is the beating heart of a vast, beautiful and vibrant region. We hold the well-being of over 115,000 people in our hands…and they, in turn, hold our fate in theirs.

As the largest hospital in Northeast Ontario, TADH is poised on the brink of a new era in healthcare for this region. To meet the growing and changing needs of the families we serve, the facilities and equipment of our hospital must be renewed. Not years from now, but now. Outdated, cramped, with an aging building and obsolete equipment, TADH is long past due for a revitalization that will enable us to take our District’s healthcare into the 21st century.