Donors to Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s expansion effort have given $4.82 million.

“It feels great – just the response from the community. It’s taken folks a little time to make a decision, and I think that will continue to happen until we’ve completed the campaign and reached our goal,” said Kathy Clausing, chief development officer and vice president of the hospital’s endowment association.

LMH endowment members hope to raise $8 million to help with the planned $40 million expansion.

Other funding pledges are still coming in, Clausing said.

“We’ve had a lot of verbal (commitments). People are very positive,” she said.

“We’re not counting it until we have the pledge form in hand.”

The hospital plans to sell tax-exempt bonds this summer to cover the rest of the expansion cost, Clausing said, and plans to break ground on the project before the end of the year.

A new emergency room, improved surgery facilities, a new maternity ward and remodeled nursing units are part of the plan.

The large-scale fundraising effort is new for the hospital, which receives no tax revenue from the city or county.

Lawrence’s recent growth makes the expansion necessary, Clausing said, and plenty of people have asked her about the hospital during the campaign. “This is changing people’s perception about the hospital. It’s changing the culture, which takes some time,” Clausing said. “Most folks care about wanting good health care because it’s the right thing to do for our community and because we make a huge impact.”

In the next two weeks, the campaign will launch the community portion of the drive. About 600 volunteers are expected to help in the 30- to 60-day effort, Clausing said.

Proceeds from the hospital’s annual benefit ball this year will aid the expansion of the emergency room. The ball begins at 5:30 p.m. May 6 at the Wakarusa Corporate Center. For information about the ball, call the endowment association at 749-6134.