THURSDAY, february 28, 2019 Vol. A-75, No. 9
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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Fort St. John boxer Brayden Sims strikes a blow to Justice Harborne of Manitoba on his way to winning gold in his division at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer on Feb. 20, 2019. “I’ve been visualizing that gold medal forever now ... I’m just astounded right now. I can’t even speak.” > > Turn to B1 for the story
‘Tremendous impact’
Hospital Foundation celebrates 25 years Matt Preprost
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The Fort St. John Hospital Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary on Thursday, Feb. 21, with songs, behind-the-scenes tours, history displays and, of course, a cake cutting. The foundation was established in January 1994, and has raised millions of dollars to buy medical equipment to support patient care at the hospital and Peace Villa care home. In the last decade alone, the foundation has helped buy 233 pieces of equipment — dialysis chairs, wheelchairs, diagnostic machines, games, and more — with another nine purchases in the works. “The foundation is built on a tradition of caring people,” said Niki Hedges, executive director. “It’s been a long road from when the foundation first started out 25 years ago. What a mountain you had to climb, but we can all say that we’ve reached the summit every day, in the stories of patients both young and old. The impact is felt every day as the hospital medical staff save and change lives using equipment funded by donors. “The generosity of donors has a tremendous impact on local healthcare, and the hospital touches the lives of everyone: Our family, our friends and
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Mike and Deb Butler sing a song to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation, Feb. 21, 2019.
our neighbours. The latest tools and technology are indispensable, allowing medical staff do what they are best at, and that’s taking care of patients.” During the two-hour event, donors, supporters, and foundation volunteers were treated to tours of the hospital’s birthing centre, medical imaging unit, and cancer and dialysis treatment centres. Afterwards, they were treated to a performance by Mike and Deb Butler, who sang a song they wrote celebrating the history of the foundation. Angela De Smit, chief operating officer for Northern Health in the Northeast, said the health authority greatly appre-
ciates the work of the hospital foundation. “The investments by the foundation, along with Northern Health, do add to a higher quality of heatlhcare services that were able to provide here,” De Smit said. Both Hedges and De Smit praised the “big hearts” of volunteers and the “countless hours” of work they put in to organize events and activities to raise donations. Those donations also support an education fund so hospital staff can keep up with training. “Our volunteers ensure that our events run without a hitch,” Hedges said. Chris Maundrell, chair of the
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foundation’s board of directors, said the organization doesn’t exist in isolation from the Fort St. John and North Peace community, or the hospital community. “It really is a team effort,” Maundrell said. “Without the good work that Northern Health does and its staff — all the doctors, nurses, and administration, everybody at the hospital — without their work, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are. “It’s those people who go out and talk to their neighbours, talk to their families and say what a wonderful facility we have, what great care we have. That reflects back on the hospital foundation because we get that benefit, and then once again we’re able to help the hospital.” Bluey Day registration Registration for the foundation’s annual Bluey Day event will open on March 4. Participants will spend the next three months growing out their hair and have their head shaved on Saturday, May 25, at the BC Ambulance building on 96 Street. Since the first Bluey Day held in 1998, donors have contributed more than $1.8 million for cancer equipment for the hospital.
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