St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation celebrates annual Red Day fundraiser
Posted Jun 7, 2024 07:16:50 AM.
Last Updated Jun 7, 2024 04:49:26 PM.
It’s a big day for health care fundraising in Waterloo Region as St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation celebrates Red Day.
The money raised from this year’s campaign will go towards St. Mary’s PREVENT Clinic, a new program powered by Manulife Financial. The clinic is an extension of the cardiac care services at St. Mary’s and will run out of the St. Mary’s Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation Centre at The Boardwalk in Waterloo.
“The goal of PREVENT Clinic is to have a team at St. Mary’s to work with individuals who are at high cardiac risk and also those who do not have a primary care provider,” said Alyssa Lai, the director of communications and marketing at St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation.
Recent data from the Ontario College of Family Physicians shows that 2.2 million people in Ontario do not have a family doctor, with 65,000 in Waterloo-Wellington.
“Up to 80 per cent of premature cardiac events, including heart attacks and strokes, can be prevented by managing risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes,” said Dr. Heather Warren, the vice president of Medical Programs and Quality at St. Mary’s in a press release.
Multiple events will be held at the hospital and around the region as part of Red Day. Local businesses, including the SMGH Tim Horton’s, Poppy’s Bagels on King Street and Retro Roller Inc. on the Boardwalk, will be taking part in donating part of sales today to the Red Day campaign. Manulife Financial has pledged to match all donations on Red Day up to $200,000.
The Mike Farwell Show will be airing live on location from the hospital’s lobby from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., as part of the fundraiser. Farwell said the show during Red Day is a great opportunity to meet the people behind the scenes who do so much for cardiac care in the community.
“It really does give us a sense of celebration of health care in our community and there really is a festive atmosphere around it,” said Farwell.
You can listen here on CityNews 570 and watch the four-hour event on Rogers TV Cable 20.
Donations can be made on the Red Day website.
