Written by Ron Guenther
Click here to donate to the BTHC Foundation!
The BTHC Foundation Donation Conversation continues in November, focusing on Palliative Care at the Boundary Trails Health Centre! We spoke with Dr. Kevin Convery about the impact that Palliative Care has on patients and their families in the Pembina Valley.
Thanks to the Winkler Coop@Home store we have some AMAZING Early Bird Prizes to give away. Final draw for half the Cash Pot is on December 31, 2020. For more info on the prizes and draws and to get your tickets…
Go to www.bthcfraffle.ca
Thank you for your continued support to help enhance healthcare services at Boundary Trails Health Centre.
Local well-known doctor Don Klassen says he can’t imagine his work without the support of the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation. Dr. Don Klassen
He notes there are always more requests for funding from the Province than there is the ability to pay for those requests.
“This is often where the foundation comes in,” he says. “In particular in funding those items and equipment that go over and above.”
Equipment like bariatric beds and lifts, ultrasound machines, furniture and other comfort items for palliative care wouldn’t exist without the support of donors and the work of the BTHC Foundation.
He says it’s often the comfort-related items that make the biggest difference to people who spend the most time in the hospital like dialysis patients with more comfortable chairs.
“It’s really important that our communities donate and invest in our hospital,” BTHC Foundation Executive Director Shannon Samatte-Folkett explains, adding the foundation funds the entire Palliative Care Program, two part-time nurses and a palliative care volunteer coordinator, as well as the spiritual care coordinator.
“Right now that is so important because of the visitation restrictions,” she explains “People from their own clergy can’t come to visit, so our spiritual care coordinator steps in to be that person to connect them or just be there for them.”
Klassen explains this month is part of a three-month ‘Donation Conversation’ campaign.
“We’re doing this in the throes of a pandemic,” Klassen says, adding they hope the campaign can match the kind of donation they’ve received in years past.
The foundation’s annual golf tournament raises around $30,000, while their fall banquet has raised up to $90,000. This year both events had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.
However, kick starting fundraising efforts this year, local donors have committed $35,000 in matching grants for the campaign this fall.
“If those of us in the public can come up with $35,000 we’ve already got $70,000 spoken for and we can just go up from there,” Klassen says.
October’s theme during the ‘Donation Conversation’ is Equipment. November features Spiritual Care, and December the Palliative Care Program.
You can join the Donation Conversation by clicking here, and making a gift today.
It was a complete sell out for the 2019 BTHC Foundation Banquet at the Access Event Centre Friday night.
A new record was set during Friday’s Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation’s annual gala.
The evening’s goal was to raise $90,000 for a point of care ultrasound for the B-T-H-C emergency room which will improve the ER staff’s ability to diagnose and treat critical medical conditions. “I understand it’s a portable unit that they’ll be able to move around within the hospital, so it will be a very nice addition for the entire Boundary Trails,” said Foundation Chair Grant Thiessen.
Thiessen says although $90,000 is a big goal, the generous crowd delivered, raising approximately $87,000, a new record for the banquet.
“That is absolutely fantastic and we’re just so pleased how the communality supports our event. We sometimes talk about making some changes, and I say you know what, we sell this out. This is pretty good.”
Knowing how successful the event is year after year, Thiessen says they don’t ever want to take it for granted. However, they know the need for healthcare is something that will come into all our lives at one time or another, and that’s why people continue to support the cause so generously.
In addition to some other programs and equipment purchases, the foundation also funds the hospital’s spiritual care and palliative care programs at B-T-H-C as well.
Meanwhile, Thiessen says when the time comes, the foundation’s fundraising for the hospital expansion will go into full steam.
“Our target is still as it’s been. We knew we needed to get through the fall election,” said Thiessen. “It’s really in the hands of government right now to get an announcement. But the issue is when we get the announcement, not if, we will be put into high gear quickly for a major, major fundraising activity.”
Michael Landsberg was the keynote speaker Friday night.
Susie explains she’s been coming into work for the past 26 years. “It’s just a joy, I like to help the community. I enjoy making friends and I don’t need the pay, I don’t want the pay… it’s my social life.”
In total, local non-profits recently saw an influx of half a million dollars.
On Monday, the Morden Community Thrift Shop donated another $500,000 to 17 local organizations. The store dispersed the same amount last summer.
Executive Secretary Nora Wiebe explains they discuss potential recipients as a board and present their nominees to the entire volunteer workforce before voting.
“We’re all volunteers and all the monies that come in, go out. So each volunteer has a vote in how it’s spent,” Wiebe says.
The generous funding is only made possible thanks to an army of 85 selfless volunteers. “There isn’t one person here on salary.”
The Boundary Trails Health Centre (BTHC) Foundation building fund received $250,000 on Monday, the same amount they received last year. “Because it’s something that benefits the entire surrounding area,” she says.
The BTHC Foundation has been working on expansion plans for the past three years in response to the region’s population growth. Plans include creating a service centre and moving office space out of the hospital to free up room for medical services.
Other recipients included STARS Air Ambulance with $25,000, a service Wiebe says has also been invaluable to Morden and the surrounding region.
“It couldn’t work without the volunteers, the donors and the shoppers, it’s a three-way split,” she says. “So we try and cover and help as much of our community as we can because they’ve been a great help to us to make this kind of money.”
The Pembina Counselling Centre received $25,000 and the Darlingford Fire Department saw $22,000.
In the end, Wiebe says the generous funding is made possible thanks to an army of 85 selfless volunteers. “There isn’t one person here on salary.”
Wiebe says the store becomes a “home away from home” for many.
“You come here, you talk, you laugh, you work… it’s just a wonderful place to be.”
One volunteer notes she’s been coming into work for the past 26 years. “It’s just a joy, I like to help the community. I enjoy making friends and I don’t need the pay, I don’t want the pay… it’s my social life.”
Written by Steven Sukkau
