Honda of Canada Mfg. strengthens partnership with SMH
[New Tecumseth, ON – September 24, 2020] Honda of Canada Mfg. (HCM) has been a strong supporter of Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) over the years, but the support they have continued to provide throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of extraordinary.
In 2017, the Honda Canada Foundation pledged $4 million to the SMH Foundation’s capital campaign in support of equipment needs and the redevelopment project to revitalize and expand the Hospital. They have also helped upgrade SMH’s facility in many ways, including revitalizing their property gardens and building a gazebo for staff and visitors to enjoy.
As extensive as their support has been, HCM and the Honda Canada Foundation did not hesitate to provide SMH with PPE supplies and more during the most critical and challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial stages.
They immediately
- started producing face shields and donated several hundreds to the Hospital;
- provided access to a supplier of medical-grade gloves allowing SMH to order the stock they needed;
- provided volunteers to build a temporary unit dedicated to managing a potential surge of patients during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- donated $100,000 to the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Fund.
“HCM and the Honda Canada Foundation have been incredible supporters of ours for so many years. We are grateful for their dedication to their local community Hospital, and for extending their support further during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Tanya Wall, Executive Director, SMH Foundation.
The support did not go unnoticed from the Hospital’s staff and executives as well.
“Providing that PPE at such a critical time lifted some of the weight off of our shoulders, especially our Finance and Procurement Team who monitor our PPE supply daily,” says Jody Levac, President and CEO, SMH. “I’ll also never forget the work that the HCM team completed to create a temporary unit in preparation for a potential surge in patients, transforming our Day Surgery space in record time. The project was really unprecedented in SMH’s history and I thank Honda’s generous and hardworking staff,” he adds.
The temporary space has now been converted back to its original state (Day Surgery Recovery Suite), now that surgeries are once again an essential service at the Hospital.
SMH has also reciprocated, extending its support to HCM with the reopening of its facilities in Alliston in May. With SMH’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre already in full swing, members of HCM’s nursing staff visited SMH to review operations and procedures, in preparation for opening their own facility and conducting on campus COVID-19 assessments.
SMH has also been partnering with HCM for many years on a health assessment program for new employees, including x-ray services. This program has been on hold since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will be re-opening in the near future.
“Honda’s partnership with Stevenson Memorial Hospital is built on our mutual commitment to supporting the community,” said Tom Lake, Executive Vice President, Honda of Canada Mfg. and Deputy Chair of the Honda Canada Foundation. “Thank you to everyone at Stevenson Memorial Hospital for your tireless efforts to build capacity and to care for so many in this unprecedented time.”
For information about the SMH Foundation’s current capital campaign, Because of you, we can, and how you can help, please visit www.transformingstevenson.ca.
