Local radio hosts, including Pattison Media's Nevin Sereda and Cody Kells, celebrate the $446,384 fundraising total for the 16th Annual Care from the Heart Day Radio-A-Thon. (Image Credit: Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation)

By David Opinko

Care from the Heart Day Radio-A-Thon far surpasses fundraising goal

Feb 13, 2026 | 1:38 PM

A local fundraiser in support of healthcare services smashed its goal.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, radio hosts from six local stations volunteered for the 16th Annual Care from the Heart Day Radio-A-Thon.

That includes four on-air personalities from WILD 95.5 FM and All Hits B93.3 FM – Harley Myhovich, Chad Benson, Nevin Sereda and Cody Kells.

They spent the entire day at Chinook Regional Hospital raising awareness for the Bringing Hearts Home campaign.

Oliver Twizell, Director of Development for the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation (CRHF), says $446,384 was collected at this year’s event.

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The goal was $300,000.

“It was surprising in the sense of how much we surpassed our goal, but upon reflection, we know that healthcare touches everyone, and many, many southern Albertans care about the level of healthcare service they receive in the region. They always step up in a big way,” says Twizell.

A big part of the Radio-A-Thon was having local healthcare workers, patients and others share their personal stories live on local radio waves.

Twizell believes this helped to sell the importance of contributing to this cause.

“The personal stories from patients about the level of care they received, and typically, it’s super positive comments about the excellent service they received from staff, I think that’s motivating and comforting for the rest of the community, who then see themselves and their own experiences,” says Twizell.

He adds, “Equally important is the share who share their stories about the equipment or services they’re able to provide because donors have stepped up and provided gifts that have allowed specialized equipment to be purchased, or programming to be developed, that allows staff to be able to provide excellent healthcare.”

Bringing Hearts Home is the $30 million fundraising initiative to build a new cardiac care centre in Chinook Regional Hospital. Upon completion, it would include:

• Two cardiac catheterization labs
• Two electrophysiology labs
• Expanded cardiac diagnostics, including echo, stress testing, and Holter monitoring
• Dedicated cardiac CT and MRI imaging capacity
• A modernized ICU and redeveloped Coronary Care Unit with enhanced patient safety and infection-control design

The CRHF recently reported that more than $25 million had been raised so far, and the campaign continues until February 2027.

I was recently inspired to share my experiences with cardiac care earlier this week and how it has never been close to home.

READ MORE: Two heart surgeries later, why I believe Lethbridge’s cardiac centre will make a difference

READ MORE: Bringing Hearts Home raises $25M so far, but still needs $5M

Donations can be made by calling 403-388-6001, visiting the CRHF office in the hospital’s atrium, or by visiting crhfoundation.ca