A renamed hospital foundation is looking to work with communities in the north to improve their health care facilities.
The newly named Boreal Healthcare Foundation, which was previously known as the Victoria Hospital Foundation, is planning to work with a number of communities in the north to help them raise money to support their local health centres. Cody Barnett, CEO of the Boreal Healthcare Foundation told MBC Radio News they have been working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to determine which communities could benefit from working with the foundation.
“We’re working with the Sask. Health Authority on identify some of the priority needs in other communities and we’ve kind of got a short list of communities, so far that the SHA says that their facilities could use some help in terms of philanthropic support,” he said.
Those communities include Beauval, Creighton and Île-à-la-Crosse. Barnett said the Boreal Healthcare Foundation could potentially be helpful to these communities and others in the north without hospital foundations as they can save them the trouble of having to set up their own foundations.
Barnett explained the next phase will involve them reaching out to communities to better understand what is needed.
“Our next step is definitely going out to engage the communities, the communities know what they need and know what the people in their local areas need,” he said.
In the past the foundation has helped fund important pieces of equipment for the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert. Barnett said they will focus on continuing with this mission and help more facilities acquire needed equipment. He added the foundation’s primary role will be providing support to communities so they can raise funds in the way they would like.
“We’ll have staff and programs in place to help communities build their own fund raising initiatives, be it walks, runs whatever they want to do, something that’s meaningful to each community,” he said.
(PHOTO: Ultrasound procedure. Courtesy of Southern NH Radiology Consultants.)