Less than six months in, the Lee Memorial Foundation’s “It’s About the Place We Call Home” campaign is already making significant strides in that very place.

Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital recently overhauled its mammography operation in its radiology department, replacing the former machines with new digital equipment. The new equipment has already been installed, and is now available for use by patients.

Enabling the upgrades were donations collected by the Lee Foundation, the fundraising arm of the hospital. Their recently launched two-year capital campaign has already collected over $275,000 worth of donations.

“With these new additions, it will bring us truly right up to snuff in terms of serving the community,” said Karen Judd, chair of the foundation.

Digital mammography equipment offers a numbers of advantages over older, film-screen counterpart. The process is able to detect more cancer in women with dense breasts, as well as uses less radiation. It also allows radiologists to deliver faster results to patients.

“Digital is the newest, state of the art method of screening,” Judd said. “People are pretty thrilled with it. It’s a much more confortable process for a woman to go through.”

The mammography upgrades are the first in a series of updates to the Dowagiac hospital that the foundation is raising money to fund. The members will collect additional funds to pay for new medical beds and surgical equipment, as well various renovations to the more than 85-year-old facility, including a redesigned outpatient entrance and registration area and enhancements to one of their nursing units.

The foundation’s current campaign is looking to raise $1 million for these upgrades, with the foundation gathering $500,000 from donations while the Borgess Medical Group, the hospital’s parent company, matches that.

Judd said the hospital and the foundation have worked together in recent years to increase the hospital’s offerings and quality of service. One of the more recent examples of this was the opening of its expanded emergency room back in 2009.

“I’ve served this hospital for over 40 years,” Judd said. “It’s exciting to me to see the progress we’ve made over that time. We’re very thankful for the community for all they’ve given to the hospital.”

The Lee Foundation’s two major fundraising events of the year are scheduled over the next few weeks, The Lee Memorial Foundation Golf Outing on July 11 and the Wine and Beer Tasting on Aug. 9. Judd said that both events are very popular with the community, and the foundation hopes to raise a good portion of its remaining goal from them this year.

“This is an amazing community, the way they have supported us in the past,” Judd said. “We are extremely grateful for their generosity.”

People interested in learning more or in supporting the Lee Memorial Foundation Capital Campaign, can contact them at (269) 783-3026.