HHCF launches annual holiday campaign to support hospital

November 19, 2020 · 0 Comments

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The season for giving has started and Headwaters Health Care Foundation (HHCF) is launching their annual holiday campaign raising donations to bring updated hospital equipment to Orangeville’s local hospital.

“We’re hopeful that people who may have stepped up and supported in the spring (with the COVID-19 assessment centre) will give again and those who didn’t support in the spring will give this time,” said Dora Boylen-Pabst, CEO of Headwaters Health Care Foundation.

This year, as part of the holiday campaign, donations to Headwaters Health Care Foundation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Morningview Foundation up to $200,000, the largest matching gift the foundation has ever had for its holiday campaign.

“A hospital of our size, with programs such as breast cancer programs, or obstetrics programs, or emerge department, have ongoing needs,” said Boylen-Pabst. “Just because of COVID-19, there are no fewer cancer diagnoses, no fewer emerge patients, no fewer babies born and as a result, we’re really feeling the pressure this holiday season.”

The donations raised through the holiday campaign will be going toward the purchase of a new mammography machine with tomosynthesis (3D imaging) for the hospital. The new machine will be replacing Headwaters Health Care Centre’s current one, which is over 10 years old and nearing the end of its usage. The 3D imaging aspect of the new mammography machine the hospital is looking to purchase can help diagnose harder to diagnose cases, Boylen-Pabst said.

“It’s particularly effective for women with dense breasts. It also reduces false positive rates, which is important and it will allow for much earlier detection of breast cancers even in people with no symptoms,” said Boylen-Pabst. “It will make a large difference to people who have to at this point, go to other centres for higher definition testing, because we haven’t had it here.”

The cost of the mammography machine with tomosynthesis imaging sits around $575,000 and with the dollar-for-dollar matching donation, Boylen-Pabst said the hospital will be the majority of the way to purchasing it.

Headwaters Health Care Centre annually sees mammography patients of up to and over 3,600, which Boylen-Pabst says has already been surpassed this year.

“We have a growing volume of breast cancer patients and this mammography machine with tomosynthesis will make a huge difference to this entire community.”

Donations can be made at www.hhcfoundation.com (look for the matching gift button) or call 519-941-2702. Donations can be made any time before Dec. 31.