The community continues to view the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation as worthy of support.
The foundation’s annual Radiothon for Life on May 1 generated $168,208 for the hospital foundation. Included in that total is a $100,000 bequest that came in late during the broadcast from the estate of Mylan Chase.
The event was broadcast throughout the day on Golden West Broadcasting’s Estevan radio stations.
“Just seeing all of the community of southeast Saskatchewan come together to raise funds for something that affects us all, and that’s our hospital, was something that we were very excited to be a part of, and the final result was truly amazing,” said Breanne Van de Woestyne, the executive director for the hospital foundation.
While the money from the Chase family will go to the long-term care unit, the rest of the funds raised during the radiothon will go to the maternity unit.
“The foundation sat down with the hospital staff a couple of months ago and went over what in our hospital really needed improvements and upgrades this year, and we decided to dedicate the funds from the radiothon to our maternity unit,” said Van de Woestyne.
The list of equipment to be purchase through the radiothon was finalized before the fundraiser, and it equalled $55,000. The hospital hopes to purchase all of that equipment in the next month or so, and make improvements to the unit.
“We are constantly upgrading equipment,” said Van de Woestyne. “There’s so much advanced equipment available, and we want to be able to offer that advanced equipment in OBS in southeast Saskatchewan, just because it’s a very rare service.”
The radiothon ran from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. People dropped by the hospital throughout the day to make a pledge or drop off a donation, while others called in their support.
A barbecue lunch was served that attracted a large crowd, and showed a sense of community. Volunteers came out to help serve the meal.
“Everyone just came together to support a great cause and enjoy some good food,” said Van de Woestyne.
Testimonials throughout the day explained how the maternity unit has been a big part of the services at the hospital.
“We had moms come in from all over southeast Saskatchewan, and they all had different experiences, whether they had a high-risk pregnancy or they fought to keep their delivery process in Estevan, you just heard the different perspectives, and how much that maternity ward truly affects everyone here in our community,” said Van de Woestyne.
Communities throughout the southeast came together to support the fundraiser, she said, and they made a big difference for health-care in Estevan.
