The KGH Foundation in Kelowna has hit another milestone in its largest fundraising campaign yet.
The Closer to Home Than You Think campaign was launched in April 2023 and has raised 60 per cent of their $40-million goal to improve the care provided at Kelowna General Hospital.
The fundraising campaign targets eight areas of care at the hospital. With $26 million the KGH Foundation has upgraded Cardiac Care, created a Centre of Health System Learning and Innovation, are working to establish programs focused on Brain Health as well as mental health. The foundation is also fundraising to advance cancer care services at KGH.
One of the latest projects funded is the MRI expansion where two new MRI suites will be added to the medical imaging department in addition to cutting-edge equipment that will expedite waitlists.
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“For instance, for basic scans, you can go twice as fast instead of one patient getting this slot you get two patients for the price of one and that will help us achieve targets for waitlists and get people to imaging they need,” said Dr. Nevin de Korompay, head of the Department of Radiology.
The new machine – a 3T MRI – has been called the gold standard of diagnostic imaging meaning testing at KGH will also become less invasive in many cases.
“The extra strength of the MRI allows us to image twice as powerfully. So what that can mean for a patient is, right now for instance, if we’re trying to look at abnormalities in the blood vessels in the brain, we’d have to do an invasive test where we actually puncture blood vessel, run a tube up into the head and take pictures where there are those risks of bleeding just to make a diagnosis. (With the MRI) we are able to do wall vessel imaging in a non-invasive fashion,” said Dr. de Korompay.
With 60 per cent of the fundraising goal achieved, the remaining $14 million will go toward surgical oncology – women’s health as well as bone and joint care.
“We’re so excited we’re $26 million raised for the Closer to Home Than You Think,” said Chandel Schmidt, vice-president of Philanthropy for KGH Foundation.
Schmidt predicts that the goal could be achieved by 2026 if not sooner.