Your support of frontline workers has supported the changing needs of our health system over the past year and impacted the healthcare heroes on the frontline of care. Here are just a few of the ways your donation has made an impact to frontline workers and the care they are able provide.
Meals for over 22,000 frontline workers
Over the course of the pandemic, more shifts and longer hours have become the norm for many working in our hospitals, lab services, testing centers and delivering community care. It can be tiring and many continue to do it while balancing the demands of their personal and family lives.
Because of your generous support, over 22,000 healthcare workers from Calgary and 16 surrounding communities received meals over the holidays to enjoy with their families. Your support has shown our healthcare teams that we are rallying behind them and appreciate all that they have done over the last year for our community.
Read more here.
Increased testing across Alberta
Because of your support, Calgary Health Foundation was able to commit $1.7M to increase testing capacity for the province. The funding purchased critical equipment to bring Alberta’s testing capacity from 7,000 to 16,000 tests per day and also expedite the results. As we’ve seen over the last year, testing remains a critical element to provide more data that assists public health officials to make better decisions.
Even today, every test that can be completed is like solving a piece to this puzzle, and the more tests that can be done, the pieces will begin to come together quicker helping Albertans gain a sense of normalcy.
Read more here.
Biorepository for ongoing COVID-19 research
Thanks to your donations, Calgary Health Foundation is working in partnership with Alberta Health Services, Alberta Precision Laboratories and five of Alberta’s health foundations in establishing of a biorepository for human COVID-19 samples in the province.
Our collective investment is $300,000 and was made possible thanks to you.
The biorepository will allow for the long-term preservation of positive COVID-19 samples. This enables Alberta’s world-class medical-scientific researchers local access to the biological material they need to further study the virus. Without the biorepository, these positive samples could only be temporarily stored, and would not be available long-term to support our research in combatting COVID-19.
Read more here.
AB-HOPE COVID-19: Clinical Research Trial
Early in the pandemic, Calgary Health Foundation became the primary funder of the Alberta HOPE COVID-19 trial, a collaboration between Researchers and Health
Professionals at the University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and Alberta Health Services. Your donation meant quick response to the unknown nature of the virus and lack of any proven treatments for this severe condition. It remains imperative that we work together and use the resources we have to try to improve the lives of Albertans during this global pandemic. Other funding partners include Alberta Innovates, the Government of Alberta and the University of Calgary/Alberta Health Services Clinical Research Fund.
