Fund drive to expand Cancer Institute

The Oconee Memorial Hospital Foundation announces the start of a $4.2 million capital campaign to expand cancer care locally.  The community funding, along with funding from Prisma Health, would double the footprint of the cancer institute at the front of the hospital campus.  The objective:  to serve more patients.  “Our community is growing by leaps and bounds, but unfortunately cancer rates are increasing as well,” says Cortni Nations, foundation manager.  The announcement of the capital campaign was made yesterday during a Pass the Purse event, a designer purse auction fundraiser at Keowee, Key, attended by nearly 250 people, including cancer survivors.  So far, the foundation has raised $1.1 million, the result of a significant contribution from, among others, Marilyn Pake and The Jim Pake Foundation.  Mr. Pake lost his battle to lung cancer in 2018.  To support the project, call the Foundation Office at 864/885-7912 or visit https://prismahealth.org/buildinghope.