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Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation launches 9th annual Care-from-the-Heart Radio-a-thon

Feb 14, 2018 | 11:29 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  “When you have your health, you have everything. When you do not have your health, nothing else matters at all.” – Augusten Burroughs

Members of the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation (CRHF) understand those words and know first-hand the hardships endured by those suffering through a health crisis or needing to seek treatment outside their community.

It’s one of the reasons behind the Care from the Heart Radio-a-thon which embarks on the 9th annual fund-raiser on Thursday, Feb 15. Six Lethbridge radio stations, including Country-95 and B-93, will have live broadcasts from the Chinook Regional Hospital, highlighting the work of the CRHF as it seeks donor support for programs and state-of-the-art healthcare equipment.

Community support is the key and Foundation Executive Director, Jason VandenHoek, says Lethbridge and Southern Alberta have always come through. In the past eight years, $1,730,000 has been raised.  Thursday’s goal is $230,000, but he is confident that donations will surpass that and take them over the 9-year, combined $2 Million mark.

“The beauty of every dollar we raise is that it stays right here in Lethbridge for the benefit of the Chinook Regional Hospital –  it doesn’t go anywhere else – and we’ve really been able to touch every area of the hospital, when it comes to donated dollars. So, from operating rooms to emergency rooms, the neo-natal intensive care, pediatrics – it’s really touched everything.”

 Right now, Jason says the focus is the mental health area.

“We are in phase two of a few-phase project for that area – renovating it, revitalizing it and making it appropriate for the type of care we need to offer.”

Jason notes that government dollars only go so far and the reason our facility is as state-of-the-art as it is, has a lot to do with donor dollars. We have a very generous community and we’ve been able to invest in our hospital, and I think people should be proud of the hospital we have here in Lethbridge because they’ve played a part in making it what it is.”

The other important element Jason noted, “Whenever we can get patients to stay here in Lethbridge for their care, which is a focus for us, that makes us feel really good, because it means we can stop a family from having to travel to Calgary, or need to go to Calgary for cancer treatment, again, that is because of the donors.”

One of the biggest supporters of Care from the Heart has been local cattleman and auctioneer, Bob Balog, who is chairing the event for the eighth consecutive year. It is no small commitment, but Bob has his reasons for staying involved.

“I was brought up in a family that believes when you live in a community, you have to be part of that community, and you have to give to that community. The hospital is a great big part of any community – everyone of us, all of our families regardless of age, we are going to need and use the hospital.  This is a case that makes our hospital better, it gets everybody involved and we you need care, it’s great that you can stay here.”

For Bob, the high points during his involvement during the past eight years, has been seeing local residents come forward and generously support their hospital. Bob recalled one specific incident.

“We had a fellow last year that had just lost his partner, he came in with tears in his eyes and said, -Bob, I want to be here because this is such a great thing you guys are doing and we need this hospital.”

There are many businesses that support the hospital foundation each year and the cattle industry is no exception.  On Wednesday, Balog Auction held a charity auction for CFTH

“We have quite a few producers that will say – here is an animal and I want all the money to go to CFTH, and we always buy an animal and we will sell it 30, or 40, or 50, 0r 60 times and then we sell it for real at the very end, with the money going into part of the total.” (For the uninitiated, when an animal is sold this many times, the people who buy the cow continually re-donate the animal back so that it can be continually re-auctioned numerous times, as a way of building up he final donation).

The Care from the Heart radio-a-thon will be featured on the city’s six radio stations from 7:00-am until 6:00-pm. Donations can be made by stopping by the CRH Atrium, by calling the CRH Foundation at 403.388.6001, or online at www.crhfoundation.ca