Donna Grainger
Executive Director of East Kootenay Foundation for Health
This past May, Chair Linda Berukoff and Donna Grainger, Executive Director of East Kootenay Foundation for Health joined Erica Phillips, Health Service Administrator, Golden/Invermere and EZ Rock Radio Morning Host, Garry Irving live on air for the 2011 Astral Media Radiothon.
The group spent the day encouraging public donations to start off a $60,000 portable ultrasound fundraising campaign for the Golden & District Hospital. As a result of the radiothon $6,000 kicked off the campaign and now six months later, EKFH and its Board of Directors has approved the release of $15,000 of its unrestricted funds to help complete the funding requirement to make the portable ultrasound a reality for the community.
Donna Grainger explains, “Although the foundation has a major campaign focus on a digital stereotactic mammography unit for the regional hospital, it is important for us to ensure that we don’t lose sight of the fact that we are a regionally based hospital foundation. Erica has worked diligently to bring some of the best technology to Golden and in the case of the portable ultrasound our board knew it was the right decision to support her efforts, the generosity of the Physicians and many other local donors to get this equipment.” The best news yet is that the ultrasound equipment is now on site and in use at the Golden Hospital.
In addition to the benefits of a portable ultrasound, EKFH also directed time in support of the Golden Hospital with a grant request to BC Hydro and its Hydrecs Employee Community Services Fund. Established in 1989, HYDRECS is a charitable trust that manages BC Hydro’s employee-giving program. HYDRECS is one of the largest employee fundraising campaigns in British Columbia and is run by group of employee and retiree volunteers who meet throughout the year to organize an annual fundraising campaign. For its 2012 South Interior Special Project, HYDRECS has set a fundraising goal of $10,000 towards purchasing a bili-light for the Golden Hospital. A bili-light is a phototherapy tool to treat newborn jaundice.
Over the past several years the foundation has also provided funding to purchase a number of equipment items including new hospital beds, and sit to stand lift for the hospital, and an air purifier and specialty mattress surface for Durand Manor.
With its latest major capital campaign for the region, EKFH is focusing on a piece of diagnostic equipment that is important for residents living throughout the East Kootenay who may receive a breast cancer diagnosis. Golden resident, Lisey Lalonde and her husband Jason Romani are among those who have agreed to be the faces of the campaign.
“If my story can motivate more women to go and take the time to have a mammogram, it is 100 per cent worth it. I believe in being proactive and not reactive, this new mammography machine will save more lives,” says Lalonde in a recent interview. The “A Clear View” campaign is a 2-year, $1 million fundraiser to purchase a digital stereotactic mammography unit for the East Kootenay Regional Hospital.
The mission of East Kootenay Foundation for Health is to provide funding to assist the East Kootenay Regional Hospital and other Community Health Care Facilities in meeting the needs of the region. Donations earmarked for Golden Hospital or Durand Manor remains in trust for those facilities. To make a donation for the Golden Hospital, Durand Manor or the A Clear View campaign, please visit www.ekfh.ca.
