WEBSTER, Mass. – July 15, 2013 – Harrington HealthCare System now has the funding necessary to begin the much-needed reconstruction of the Emergency Department on its Webster campus.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patricks approval of the 2014 fiscal year state budget includes $1.5 million for the reconstruction of the Emergency Department at Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard, on 340 Thompson Road in Webster.
“With the approval of the state budget and the $1.5 million designated for our project, we now have the critical mass needed to put a shovel in the ground and begin rebuilding our Emergency Department in Webster,” said Harrington President and CEO Edward H. Moore. “We hope to begin construction this fall and complete the project in the fall of 2014.
“We have to give special thanks to our State Senator Richard T. Moore, the Senate President Pro Tem, who led the effort to include the $1.5 million in the budget and who gained the support of his fellow legislators,” he said. “Also instrumental was our other State Senator Stephen M. Brewer, who as Ways and Means Committee Chairman collaborated with Senator Moore to accomplish this goal. And thanks to State Representative Harold P. Naughton Jr., who worked to gain approval in the House of Representatives.”
The Webster Emergency Department serves the residents of Webster, Dudley, Oxford, Douglas and surrounding communities, but it has not had a major renovation since it was built in 1955.
Senator Moore, who has been a champion for healthcare in the region, said, “This is a great example of state government helping make the people in our communities more safe from harm by helping to assure ready access to the finest emergency services available,” Senator Moore explained, adding, “its public service at its best delivering real results for the people we serve.”
Prior to the signing of the state budget by Governor Patrick, Harrington had raised $1.4 million toward the estimated cost of $8.8 million for the project. Thanks to a matching gift from an anonymous donor, that figure was doubled, bringing the total to $2.8 million. The addition of the $1.5 million from the state, which also will be matched by the anonymous donor, brings to $5.8 million the total earmarked for the project.
Harringtons Moore stated that the Strengthening Our Future campaign to rebuild the Emergency Department is not over by any means.
“We still need the publics support, and the Strengthening Our Future campaign for the reconstruction of the Emergency Department continues. We now have $5.8 million; enough to begin construction. But we are still in need of an additional $3 million to complete the project,” he said.
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