An early Christmas for the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare

It was an exciting day for the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation, as they received the second-largest donation in the non-profit’s history on Tuesday afternoon.

Announced at an event held at the Elmwood Golf Club with members of their family in attendance, Jim Dekowny, Executive Director of the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation announced that they had received a bequeathment of $450,000 dollar from the estate of Donna and Steve Kraus.

The donation was part of a three-fold act, with another $450,000 dollars going towards the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, and another $450,000 share going towards Telemiracle.

Steve, who passed away in 2010, and Donna who passed in 2020, met in Vancouver after Mary had moved there for employment from her hometown of Ernfold. After retirement, they moved back to Saskatchewan, and eventually to Swift Current.

Sheldon Kraus, a nephew of Donna, made the journey from Saskatoon to be on hand for the announcement.

“Steve and Aunt Donna made a decision many years ago that they were going to give back to society. They didn’t have a family, so they did make a bequeathment to 23 people. And my aunt specified that only those who are alive will receive them. The rest was to go to charity.”

According to Dekowny, while the money does not have a particular home just yet, he felt it’s of utmost importance to ensure that the money gets spent on not only the projects that would do the most good but projects that could properly honour the significance of the Kraus’s generosity.

“This bequest will push southwest Saskatchewan towards a higher level of healthcare excellence. As we move forward with the bequest we want to ensure that the funds go towards the areas of greatest needs in southwest Saskatchewan and the Kraus family is properly honoured for each campaign we support. Currently, we are working with our partners to determine which projects are most vital.”

Source: Swift Current Online

Written by Paul Figueiredo

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Cabri receives big boost for local fundraiser

Since January, the Dr. Noble Irwin Foundation has partnered with Cabri in efforts to raise $250,000 to purchase a new digital x-ray machine.

Cabri’s current machine is film-based causing them to wait much longer for the film to develop to view scans, it is quite outdated compared to the digital machines.

They also resort to sending patients to Swift Current if they know they will need a high-quality x-ray.

Recently, the Innovation Credit Union’s Community Legacy Fund Program has granted the fundraiser $5,000, raising their total to $175,000 which is quite near their goal.

“We’re always so grateful for any amount of money that we can get towards this campaign,” says Dr. Noble Irwin’s Communications and Development Coordinator, Sara Adrian. “Every amount counts. We’re so grateful that Innovation is even just bringing more light to our campaign, letting more people know that it’s happening and that they can donate.”

The money will not only go towards a digital x-ray machine but also an updated room to accommodate the new technology. All of which will be placed at the Prairie Public Health Care Centre.

The fundraiser hopes to have their goal met before the end of the 2021 year, but are focused on meeting their goal more than the time it’s met by.

Source: Swift Current Online

Written by Ruby Zummack

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Dr. Noble Irwin Radiothon Exceeds Objective

Photo by David Zammit

After 22-hours on the Golden West Broadcasting’s airwaves the past couple of days, the Dr. Noble Irwin Pharmasave Radiothon for Healthcare has surpassed their goal netting $158,150 in the 13th installment of the annual event.

The non-profit organization had a two-day goal to raise $150,000 and with some final hour donations raced past that target, more than doubling day one’s total of $72,430.

Countless businesses and residents contributed to the final total, something that Jim Dekowny, the executive director of the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation, was very grateful for.

“The biggest part is, is the donors,” he said. “It’s not just Swift Current, it’s the southwest, it’s from up to Leader over to Maple Creek down to Climax over to Herbert. We have donors… and they stepped up pretty good and we’ve had a good couple days so it’s been good.”

With a multitude of non-profits in southwestern Saskatchewan, Dekowny said it’s great the healthcare foundation is able to grab a sliver of the pie.

“There’s so many good organizations in the southwest and we just want to do our best, so that when that something like this happens and somebody comes and hears and goes ‘ya they do a good job, so let’s throw some money at them’,” he said. “That’s kudos to my team… and kudo to what we do, to make sure that we’re visible to make sure that when you’re thinking of donating it’s to the Dr. Noble Irwin Foundation.”

The funds from this year’s event will be used to buy a new telemetry system, something that’s in urgent need for the Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current.

“It’s very important to the care we provide to patients,” Dr. Kevin Wasko said on Thursday evening. “I work in the emergency department ICU area of the hospital where all of those telemetry units are kept track of by the nursing 24/7 and it monitors people that may be at any point in the hospital. It monitors their heart rate and vital signs.”

Source: Swift Current Online 

Written by David Zammit

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