Message from Parker Jones
Published Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Message from Parker Jones
Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation
The giving nature of our community and region is one of the main reasons I joined the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation Board. Last month’s Giving Tuesday is one more reminder of how generous the people of Northwestern Ontario truly are – even in the midst of a pandemic.
This year, the Foundation made it a goal on Giving Tuesday to raise $48,000 towards two new Panda Infant Warmers for Labour & Delivery and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). These multifunctional units help give our tiniest patients the best start. They keep infants warm during newborn assessments at birth. But they also include other features such as an integrated scale, hands-free alarm silence, and emergency oxygen if needed.
By 6:00 pm on Giving Tuesday, we’d already reached our goal thanks to many community donations. In fact we raised an additional $10,000 that day, which will go towards the purchase of a delivery cart for Labour & Delivery. I want to send out a big thank you to all who helped purchase these vital pieces of equipment.
The success of Giving Tuesday is one example of many. Thanks to your donations throughout the year including our Thunder Bay 50/50 supporters, in 2021 the Health Sciences Foundation funded over $4.1 million in healthcare improvements at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and its regional programs. These support healthcare programs that touch the lives of virtually everyone in Northwestern Ontario either personally or through loved ones. Cardiac care, cancer care, paediatrics, urology, orthopaedics, and yes, Labour & Delivery, to name just a few – today these programs provide improved care to patients thanks to your charitable support.
That’s one of the things I’m most thankful for this holiday season. As we start 2022, I’m looking forward to the New Year with new things happening at the Foundation. I’ll be sharing more with you in the months to come.
In the meantime, I’d like to thank you once again for your giving spirit and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. If you regularly donate during the Christmas season, I ask you to consider putting your gift towards closer-to-home healthcare. I know what it’s like to have family members travel for care. More than anything, I want to help bring as many of those services here to Northwestern Ontario as we can, so people can get treatment closer to family, friends, and the community that they know.
Please call our Donation Centre at (807) 345-4673 or donate online at healthsciencesfoundation.ca/wishlist, and let’s continue to bring better healthcare home.
Thank you, and all the best for the holiday season!
Parker Jones