Hill Country Memorial Hospital’s project to have all single-patient rooms has reached its $1.2 million goal thanks to a final gift of $30,000 from members of the Hill Country Memorial Auxiliary.

“We were more than a little excited when this fine group of volunteers told us about their gift,” Frosty Rees, chairman of the Hill Country Memorial Hospital Foundation’s board of directors, said. “We are so grateful to them for putting us over the top and making it possible for the hospital to proceed with this important project.”

Renovation will transition medical-surgical rooms to single-patient accommodations and will include a fresh design, new furnishings, bathrooms, equipment and lighting. Approximate cost is $30,000 per room. At project end, the hospital will have 57 patient rooms, all single-patient.

The HCMH Foundation has been working to raise the necessary funds for about a year and a half, Rees said. “This project has been a sustained effort by a lot of people who have devoted countless hours to reaching this goal. Members of this community have supported their hospital financially since before the doors opened in 1971, and that generosity continues today, even in the current economy. I believe the auxiliary’s wonderful gift is the embodiment of this community’s continuing determination to see that Hill Country Memorial has what it takes to be able to meet the health care needs of those it serves. What an incredible blessing that is.”

The auxiliary raises funds through various projects throughout the year including uniform sales, jewelry sales and proceeds from Whimsies, the auxiliary gift shop located in the main lobby. “It is our auxiliary’s tradition to give of its talents and treasures in support of this wonderful hospital,” Charlie S. Wilson, Jr., auxiliary president, said. “We support the hospital in its move for all patients to have a private room, and we are happy that we could provide one of those renovated rooms.”

The hospital foundation has been working to fund the renovation goal since the fall of 2010 when its board approved the Gala steering committee’s recommendation to devote funds raised through Gala XIV to transitioning all multiple-patient rooms to single-patient status. It also chose the project as the beneficiary of its annual end-of-year appeal in 2011, as well as securing grants from private foundations and working with individual donors.

“We never tire of thanking this community for making this first-class medical facility possible,” Rees said. “It provides the benchmark to which other rural hospitals aspire, and it is respected not only in Texas but in national circles as well. Its reputation as an innovative advocate of good health and a top-quality medical institution reaches far and wide, and such success does not just happen by itself. We are grateful for our wonderful medical staff, our talented administration and our amazing employees. And, of course, our true heroes are the people we serve and who continue to support us every step of the way.”

The next phase of the renovation project will begin in the second quarter and be done in sections in order to avoid closure of any large portions of the hospital.