Pictured, left to right: Nicole Aminot, President & CEO, St. Boniface Hospital; Sarah Gilchrist, Program Director, Critical Care, Respiratory Prefusion & Education Services; Tannis Siloski, Program Team Manager, Intensive Care Medicine/Surgery (ICMS); Jay Defoort, Equipment & Supply Coordinator, ICMS; Kasi James, Executive Director, Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg; Hiren Shah, Vice-President of Service, Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg; Preeya Sidhu, Marketing & Communications Officer, Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg; Erin James, Program Director, Emergency Medicine; Dr. Paul Ratana, Medical Director, Emergency Department, St. Boniface Hospital, Provincial Specialty Lead, Emergency Medicine, WRHA; Karen Fowler, President & CEO, St Boniface Hospital Foundation.
WINNIPEG – November 22, 2022 – Winnipeg Kinsmen gave St. Boniface Hospital Foundation 450 thousand reasons to say thank you today. The service organization presented a cheque for $450,000, representing three major gifts made between March 2021 and September 2022.
“What Winnipeg Kinsmen has done for St. Boniface over the past year and a half is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Karen Fowler, President & CEO of St. Boniface Hospital Foundation. “Through the darkest days of the pandemic, many of us found small moments of brightness and fun by playing the Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo. This wonderful organization has paid that forward to our community in so many amazing ways. We can never thank them enough for the positive impact they’ve made for St. Boniface patients.”
The donations were made to support three important priority areas at St. Boniface Hospital: COVID-19 response, cardiac care, and the redevelopment and expansion of the Hospital’s emergency department.
When the Foundation approached the Winnipeg Kinsmen to discuss support for the new Emergency Department, its board was immediately supportive, recognizing the project’s importance to the community they serve.
“Our health is among our most precious possessions. It is imperative that we do all we can to ensure Manitobans can access the best emergency and cardiac care, when seconds count,” Winnipeg Kinsmen vice-president of service Hiren Shah said.
“Winnipeg Kinsmen is very proud to support St. Boniface Hospital’s Emergency Department and Cardiac Science program. Certainly, we’ve had several members who have been directly impacted by Manitoba’s Cardiac Centre of Excellence and we want to make sure we help the great work being done at the Hospital any way we can.”
This generosity speaks to Winnipeg Kinsmen’s dedication to serving our community’s greatest needs. They provide funding to charitable organizations like St. Boniface Hospital Foundation through fundraisers including Kin Kar Raffle and Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo.
“Winnipeg Kinsmen’s generosity means the world to St. Boniface Hospital, and especially the Intensive Care Medicine Surgery unit. The way that they answered the call amid very difficult pandemic circumstances was invaluable to our patients, and especially our staff. They have our most heartfelt thanks,” said Nicole Aminot, President and CEO, St. Boniface Hospital.
How Winnipeg Kinsmen is making a difference:
- By supporting St. Boniface’s new Emergency Department, they are helping create a space more than three times its current size.
- Support of the Emergency Department will enable the addition of new compassionate spaces for families facing difficult times, including an outdoor garden plaza where visitors can find a moment of respite.
- The Emergency Department will also offer greater privacy and safety, with enclosed exam rooms, full isolation rooms for infection prevention, and a much larger waiting room.
- Boniface Hospital is Manitoba’s cardiac centre of excellence, with more than 51,000 patient visits made through Cardiac Sciences Manitoba each year. Winnipeg Kinsmen’s investment supports leading edge equipment, technology, and staff training and education.
- Thanks in part to donor support, Manitoba has some of the best cardiac outcomes in the country, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. This is important for the approximate 2.4 million Canadians who have heart disease. It is the second leading cause of death in Canada.
- Support of the COVID-19 response helped St. Boniface Hospital’s Intensive Care Medicine Surgery (ICMS) unit offer critical care to Manitobans. Winnipeg Kinsmen made it possible to add vital equipment to improve air quality, safety, and comfort, including a HEPA filtration unit and high flow air vents when the unit needed support most.
Media Inquiries, contact:
Lisa Thomson Stifora
Director of Communications & Stewardship
St. Boniface Hospital Foundation
Ph: 204-770-3210
[email protected]