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Kavinda Herath / Things
The Vining family, from Winton, from left, Melissa, Della-May, 16, Blair and Lilly, 12
Work to convert an old Invercargill pub into a charity hospital has officially begun.
Melissa Vining, a board member for Southland Charity Hospital, wife of the late Blair Vining, struck an internal wall with a mallet to mark the first phase of the work shortly after noon Monday.
The interior of the former Clifton Club Inn is being destroyed before remodeling work to convert the building into a hospital begins in February, all is well.
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* Blair’s brick is the first to arrive at Southland Charity Hospital
* Pack the Park after the game proves to be hit with a lot of interest
* Owned by Clifton Club Inn ceded to Southland Charity Hospital Trust
Melissa and Blair Vining fought tirelessly for better cancer care for Kiwis after Blair fell ill and discovered that her cancer treatment was deficient in the public system.
Blair died of the disease in October 2019, but Melissa has continued the fight and is a trustee on the hospital board.
$ 4.5 million is needed to build the hospital and, in addition, $ 1 million is required for equipment.
Melissa said the fundraiser currently stands at $ 2.2 million and she was confident the hospital would open in December 2021.
More than 8,400 bricks, to be placed on the Southland Charity Hospital grounds, had so far been sold for $ 100 each as part of the hospital’s fundraising campaign, while the community had launched many other fundraising initiatives. .
Melissa said she was excited about the rapid pace of progress and praised the community for taking the initiative.
“The whole community is making the hospital possible and it really feels like I belong in the community,” he said.
“I think Blair would be very proud of how different sections of the community have supported him … and knowing him, he would be cheering pretty hard.
Robyn Edie
Melissa Vining, left, with Canterbury Charity Hospital Professor Phil Bagshaw at a 2019 meeting to discuss the proposed Southland Charity Hospital.
If all the trades people who had indicated that they would offer their services did so, the cost of construction would drop significantly, he said.
Melissa said that among those who raised money was the rural sector, where farmers were donating bales of wool, while two young people had organized a dog test that had raised about $ 50,000.
Rio Tinto announced Monday that it would reinforce the hospital’s construction fund by $ 100,000, as part of its Covid-19 aid package to support communities.
Southland Charity Hospital General Manager Helen Robinson said the charity hospital team was delighted to receive the donation, given that the hospital was being built by the community, for the community, and NZAS was a key part of the community of Southland.
NZAS Executive Director Stew Hamilton said the hospital would make a real difference in people’s lives by providing healthcare to those who might not otherwise have access to treatment.
