At Sault Area Hospital, the care we depend on is here because someone chose to give.
At some point in life, you or someone you love will need healthcare.
It might be a late-night trip to the emergency department. A test that brings answers. A treatment that changes everything.
In those moments, what matters most is being close to home — close to family, to support, to comfort.
What many people don’t realize is how that care becomes possible.
At Sault Area Hospital (SAH), the equipment used to care for patients doesn’t just ‘arrive’. It’s here because people in our community chose to make donations.
For more than 50 years, the Sault Area Hospital Foundation has worked with people across Algoma to support healthcare at SAH.
As Executive Director Teresa Martone explains, “While the government provides funding for healthcare, it can only support operations – things like maintaining the facility or paying staff. If our hospital needs equipment, it’s donations to the Foundation that fund the critical tools used to treat and provide care for patients.”
That means in some of life’s hardest moments, when you or someone you love is receiving care, the tools being used are there because someone in this community helped bring them here. That’s what philanthropy means — people giving what they can to make sure care is there when it’s needed.
Donations, events, and fundraisers make that possible every day. While the Foundation has a goal to provide more than $5 million to SAH every year for medical equipment, every dollar and every donation truly makes a difference.
Donations help fund equipment across the hospital — tools that help doctors find answers, help nurses care for patients, and help families feel just a little more at ease.
“Imagine trying to diagnose a problem without imaging equipment, or a laboratory. These tools are part of almost every care experience,” says Martone. “They help make outstanding care possible, right here at Sault Area Hospital.”
Over the last 7 years, $38 million in new equipment has arrived at Sault Area Hospital – all thanks to the incredible support of thousands of donors. That support reaches almost every corner of the hospital.
But these gifts do more than bring in new machines.
State-of-the-art technology can help patients get answers faster, which can ease worry during uncertain times. New treatment chairs or beds can make care experiences more comfortable during long days and difficult treatments. And tools that expand services help keep families together by reducing the need to travel far from home.
They also help bring skilled healthcare professionals to our community.
“When we invest in equipment, we’re investing in people,” says Martone. “It helps us deliver better care today, and build a stronger hospital for the future.”
This is what community support really means.
It means someone sitting beside a loved one instead of driving hours away.
It means answers coming sooner.
It means care that feels a little more human in moments that matter most.
And it all starts with people like you choosing to give — in whatever way you can.
When you support Sault Area Hospital Foundation, you are helping make outstanding care possible — right here at home.
“A donation to Sault Area Hospital Foundation is a way of investing in the best possible care for everyone in our community. Every gift helps shape the care we’re able to provide,” says Martone. “That’s something this community should be very proud of.”
Healthcare will continue to grow and change. New needs will come. New equipment will be needed – to the tune of millions of dollars every year.
But one thing will stay the same.
This hospital is stronger because of its community.
Behind every piece of equipment, every moment of care, and every life touched at Sault Area Hospital — there are people who chose to give.
And that’s what keeps outstanding care close to home.