St. Thomas is gearing up to host the 2016 World Tubing Championships in an effort to raise money for the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital.
NHL centre and St. Thomas native Joe Thornton will chair the event.
The hope is to get 100 teams to raise $1,000 each. All money will go towards the $250,000 renovation bill.
"Right now we're not actually able to use the full scope of the professional practice of the staff that work there. We're going to improve the space available for families, improve infection control and we're going to be able to treat babies born at 32 weeks rather than our current 34 weeks," says Executive Director of The St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital Paul Jenkins. "It just expands and keeps people here. Even in terms of transferring babies down here when they reach a certain age. It allows for that comfort. Driving from London to St. Thomas day after day, it's tiring."
The 2016 World Tubing Championship will take place on Family Day weekend. The location has yet to be finalized.
