Keep On Caring!
Huntsville Hospital Foundation
Business Cares Initiative
2021 Recognition Report
Since January 2016, the Huntsville Hospital Foundation Business Cares initiative has raised over $1,500,000 to help our hospital acquire advanced technology and equipment. The business leaders of our amazing town and the lakes around it have stepped up. And they continue to do so.
COVID Paused Life – It Didn’t Stop
Local Businesses from Caring.
As Chair of the Business Cares Committee, I’m privileged to be part of this amazing fundraising initiative, celebrating 5 years of providing reliable cash flow to the hospital and supporting the purchase of much needed equipment.
Business Cares has strategically established a relationship between the business community and healthcare providers, recognizing the importance of our hospital as the hub of health and wellness that supports an environment where people and businesses thrive.
We must honour, congratulate and recognize the 60 community-minded partners that have stepped up to contribute to Business Cares. Our business leaders have made this initiative successful beyond any expectation, and as we enter our sixth year, it is equally profound that many of our early Business Cares supporters are renewing their original five-year commitments.
Think about that for a moment: The last 14 months have been some of the toughest any of us can remember as business leaders. Yet Business Cares supporters continue to step up, continue to commit and now even renew their commitments. That is an accomplishment. It underscores the importance of our local hospital, and I for one applaud each of you. Your support is sincerely appreciated by an entire community.
We will come out of the pandemic this year. What we’ll discover is a hospital that is still in need yet resilient and ready for what’s next. That’s on us and based on the last five years, I feel very secure in that belief.
Pat Dubé
Business Cares Committee Chair
Caring by the Numbers
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Local businesses to date
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0
0
Renewed for second terms already this year
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$
$
Total amount raised
Examples of Equipment Purchased
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OTN (Ontario Telehealth Network)
$100,000 -
Holter System Replacement (Cardio)
$100,000 -
6 Patient Monitors (Day Surgery)
$72,000 -
C-Mac Video Laryngoscope
$12,200 -
Endoscope Fleet Replacement
$75,000
Representing Our Business Community
The great thing about business owners and leaders is that each brings a unique perspective to the Business Cares table. What they have in common, however, is simple: They all care deeply about the community and their employees and employee families; they all understand the role of a great local hospital and every one of them believes they have a responsibility to give back and keep giving back.
Here are brief stories from three representatives of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation business class of 2021: Rob Rolston, Ted Daniel and Joe Welsh.
Quid pro quo.
Engineering grad/MBA Rob Rolston was building his career in consumer product marketing and facing a future of constant moves around the world in different assignments. Long before pivoting was a thing, he opted to avoid that future and bought what is now the Rolston Home Building Centre in 1992
“I decided to raise my family here in one great place. It was the tail end of a deep recession and, like many business owners, that was a great time to figure out what I was doing,” remembers Rob.
Today Rolston employs 45 people, and while there’s a steady stream of do-it-yourselfers, local contractors are the focus.
“We help contractors - they are family businesses and when they do well, so do we. Everything is connected here. The Huntsville business community is like a family.
“I look for ways to say yes quietly - and supporting Huntsville Hospital through Business Cares was the right fit. To me, it says this is our business community coming together to do good for everyone. You know in your heart of hearts, it’s the right thing to do.”
And Rob’s message to other business owners and donors? “You and I were lucky enough to make a great living here. We have to be smart enough to give back. It’s quid pro quo.”
Sharing Responsibility
Ted Daniel, President of Titanium Transportation Group Inc., doesn't necessarily operate his company in Huntsville as much as he operates through it. Starting as a transport broker in 2002 and through growth and acquisitions including local names like Muskoka Transport, J.T.S Inc and ProNorth, Ted's business is as much a part of the local scene as any. His family cottage on Lake of Bays cements the connection.
"The way we run Titanium is built on a sense of pride and ownership," says Ted. "Our employees have ownership shares, but it's not just profit sharing. It's also responsibility sharing. We have a super engaged workforce. That engagement extends to our customers here in Huntsville and their families."
"Why Business Cares? Because our government will never be able to fully support healthcare everywhere in this province. So we can't rely on them alone. As a business owner, it's simply part of our job to step up and fill those gaps where we can."
"A reflection of community economic success is the health of that community. That is the social responsibility of local businesses; we transfer our success to the greater good. We're all connected here: local businesses, residents, cottagers and our guys driving through town to serve local customers. We share the road - we share the responsibility through Business Cares."
Kimberly-Clark: Current & Future
Twenty-two year Kimberly-Clark veteran Joe Welsh served as the Huntsville Plant Manager for almost three years before being transferred south of the border recently. His clarity on the connection between Kimberley-Clark, this community and its hospital runs deep.
"Our mill Vision is about owning our future," says Joe. "That's the future of the mill in this community and improving the lives of our people in this community. Ensuring our hospital is up-to-date is a reflection of that Vision."
"Huntsville Hospital is an essential service: it supports the people who are here now and it helps us attract great talent for tomorrow. We got involved in Business Cares because it's a great way to demonstrate the added-value we can provide. Our people are proud of that; they understand the positive impact it has on their families."
"Business Cares shows your company cares about your own people and about the future of Huntsville."
A Message From The Foundation
To all our Business Cares Family
Last year, we started using the phrase "Count on Us" to summarize what brings everyone here in Huntsville together. It’s mutual respect and stepping up for each other, celebrating what we have in common and summarizing how we can depend on each other.
No one demonstrates the essence of Count On Us more than Business Cares supporters like you. The business leaders of this community amaze us and your continuing commitment to our hospital and wellness for everyone in and around Huntsville inspires us. We count on you - and you never let us down.
Thank you - from everyone at Huntsville Hospital, from the Foundation and from everyone who lives, works and plays here. You are, indeed, leaders of this entire community.
Katherine Craine
Executive Director
Huntsville Hospital Foundation
Direct: 705-789-2311, ext. 2492
Email: katherine.craine@mahc.ca