Leadership Message

Loved ones severely injured in tragic incidents learned to walk and talk again. Patients needing joint replacement surgeries benefitted from innovative equipment purchases that dramatically increased access and improved recovery times. And our most critically ill infants now face much better outcomes thanks to renewed facilities and research into preterm birth risks resulting from our $153 million Newborns Need initiative. These are only a few examples of our donors’ extraordinary contributions. Other noteworthy outcomes include:

• Supporting iSuite: six state-of-the-art linked surgical suites at Foothills Medical Centre, Peter Lougheed Centre and Rockyview General Hospital;
• Contributing to the NeuroArm, PET and CT scanners at Foothills Medical Centre;
• Opening the Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre with our partners at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute;
• Establishing a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, an Interventional Radiology Suite, a virtual simulation centre and purchasing the da Vinci Robot;
• Collaborating on the renowned Firefighters Burn Unit and the Southern Alberta Institute of Urology; and
• Facilitating the opening of the world’s second Interventional Trauma Operating Room at Foothills Medical Centre, the Cardiac Hybrid Operating Room, and the Vascular Hybrid Operating Suite.

Over the last decade, our donors have helped open a new NICU and Maternal Care Unit at Peter Lougheed Centre, a Pediatric Emergency Pod at South Health Campus and invested in pediatric simulation training in the City of Calgary and rural communities. We have invested your generous contributions in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; advancing specialized services like Safeworks, Grief Support and the Calgary Sexual Assault Response Team; and creating a more home-like environment for Carewest residents.

These accomplishments demonstrate the breadth and reach of the Calgary Health Foundation’s unique model, which touches all aspects of health care to support the growing needs of people in Calgary and Southern Alberta. This year, we’re motivated to progress care for mental health and substance use patients, expand women’s health offerings, improve outcomes for critically injured neurology patients and offer genomic screening to more Albertans.

Our founders considered philanthropy a civic duty and an expectation of their roles as community leaders. Their vision and passion inspire us to continue to invest boldly, challenging the status quo.

We will continue to attract leading health care expertise to our community and leverage opportunities in precision and emerging medicine. Thank you for contributing to 25 years of community impact by investing in the Calgary Heath Foundation.