Tavistock health centre seeks community support at charity golf tournament

Tavistock Community Health at 80 Maria St. is working to rebuild its financial reserves following more than $500,000 in recent building upgrades and renovations. Amanda Nelson photo

By Amanda Nelson

For the second year, the Tavistock Community Health board is hosting Tee Off Fore Health, a key fundraising initiative supporting Tavistock Community Health Inc.

The tournament will take place Friday, June 19, at River Valley Golf Course near St. Marys. Funds raised through the tournament contribute to the ongoing management, maintenance and improvement of the health-care facility, as well as efforts to recruit medical professionals to serve the community.

Tavistock Community Health at 80 Maria St. is a community-owned, non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining an accessible, high-quality health-care centre for the Tavistock area. The building is run by a board of volunteers who oversee its care and maintenance. It currently operates with four doctors and a range of dietitians, pharmacists and nurse practitioners.

The board recently invested more than $500,000 to refresh the clinic's interior and replace a 30-year-old generator and rooftop HVAC unit, and is now seeking to replenish its reserves.

Frank Meconi, a board member, said the organization significantly depleted its reserves during renovations to the interior of the older building and is now seeking community support to rebuild its reserves for future projects, such as a roof replacement.

Meconi said that while the interior renovations were underway, contractors noted the roof had little life left and would eventually need to be replaced.

“When they were up on the roof inspecting the HVAC unit, they also determined that our roof probably has a couple of years left,” he said. “When you spend close to half a million dollars renovating the inside of a building, you don't want a roof leaking to destroy that.”

The board has set a fundraising goal of $500,000, aiming to bring together individuals and businesses throughout Tavistock to support ongoing building improvements and replenish reserves. To date, it has raised just over 45 per cent of its goal.

Though the interior renovations, including the new HVAC system, are complete, Meconi said maintenance of an older building is an ongoing challenge.

“We're always fundraising because we know in 25 years or so we're going to have to replace that HVAC unit again,” he said. “We're going to have to replace the generator eventually because nothing lasts forever. Right now, we're just trying to get back some reserves because who knows what tomorrow brings.”

You can learn more, register or become a sponsor by visiting tchi.ca or calling Meconi at 519-801-8693.