The Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation (GPRHF) and the Alberta Cancer Foundation (ACF) launched a campaign Saturday to raise $1.5 million to purchase a mobile mammogram clinic for North Zone. 

The Aztec Engineering 5th Annual Ball hockey tournament and silent auction fundraiser raised over $66,000, with half of the funds going to 3D Children’s Society and the other half to the hospital foundation. 

Jason Kolosky, president of Aztec, also presented a cheque for $100,000 to the GPRHF to kick start the campaign. 

“It was a big surprise,” said Dawn Miller, GPRHF major gifts officer. “There was a few tears when they made that announcement.”

She said the goal is to raise enough funds for a mobile mammogram clinic in the North zone. 

The ACF hopes to raise enough additional funds for another mobile clinic, but Miller said if the GPRHF makes enough funds, there will be a van dedicated to the north zone. 

“The end goal is to ensure the best quality of care for patients and their families, and with our partnership with Alberta Cancer Foundation, we are well on our way to achieving this,” said Miller.

The mobile breast cancer screening program will bring mammograms and information on breast health to the Grande Prairie region. 

“Easier access to this service means more Albertans are cared for and more diagnoses are made earlier, increasing chances of survival,” says the GPRHF media release. 

The current mobile breast cancer screening program has two units in the province, and last year performed more than 540,000 mammograms and detected more than 3,000 cases of breast cancer. 

Miller says those two units are at the end of their life.

“They’ve (mobile mammogram clinic) been going since the 1990s, so they’re desperately in need of new vans,” said Miller.

She said the new mobile clinics would have newer and lighter medical equipment because as equipment in the old units age, more breakdowns and delays can cause service delays. 

The GPRHF says the current program travels to more than 120 communities a year. 

People who wish to donate to the campaign can visit gphospitalfoundation.ca/donate/ and select the Mobile Mammogram Clinic.

By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Original Published on Jun 22, 2023

This item reprinted with permission from   Town & Country News   Beaverlodge, Alberta

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