IWK Foundation distances itself from health centre scandal
Posted Oct 5, 2017 05:47:11 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – With the IWK Children’s Hospital dealing with an expense scandal involving senior officials, the IWK Foundation is looking to quell any concerns about citizens donating to the hospital.
The organization is looking to dispel rumours and innuendo spreading within the community.
The IWK Health Centre itself has been under fire since former CEO Tracy Kitch resigned in August after a third party review found she wrongly billed the hospital for over $47,000 in personal expenses. The hospital’s CFO Stephen D’Arcy followed suit last month.
The IWK foundation on the other hand wants to remind that the public that the two only share a name and that they’ve not been involved at all in the expense scandal.
As the foundation does rely heavily on donations, Jennifer Gillivan, the foundation’s president, tells Global News that they want the public to know money donated to the foundation is completely separate from the operational funding used to pay salaries and expenses of executives.
“The operational budget is the budget that the health centres and all public institutions get from the government,” Said Gillivan, saying that money handles day-to-day expenses. “The donor money goes directly to the cause.”
The ongoing expense scandal is not affecting fundraising at the IWK Foundation but it still maybe too soon to know.
Police and the auditor general are both looking over the books at the hospital for any fiscal mismanagement.
