The impact of your early campaign support is being felt through exciting investments

PRHC Foundation’s $60 million Campaign for PRHC focuses on raising funds for extensive hospital advancements in cardiac care, cancer care, minimally invasive surgeries, interventional radiology, mental health and addictions services, and a physician-driven innovation accelerator research fund. Since 2020, the Foundation has been working with donors to build support for the campaign, and these efforts have already raised $45.5 million – or 75% – of the $60 million goal. 

The impact of the funds raised to date is being felt through exciting campaign investments already made – thank you! These include: 

  • A second MRI (pictured above) to facilitate up to 5,000 more procedures a year, addressing wait times from a 53% increase in demand and improving diagnostic care close to home
  • The upgrade and replacement of two Cardiac Cath Lab suites with state-of-the-art technology for better visualization and shorter, safer procedures
  • Two new cutting-edge CT scanners to support the early diagnosis of cancer and other conditions
  • The renovation and upgrade of the interventional radiology suites to enhance patient care and introduce endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) here for the first time to stop strokes as they’re happening
  • The upgrade of four general operating rooms with advanced minimally invasive tools so experts can perform essential surgeries with new, fluorescence-guided imaging and increased precision
  • The opening of the new Scotiabank Youth Eating Disorders Day Treatment Clinic to support youth aged 12-25 who need lifesaving care to normalize eating and restore weight
  • Urgent needs as identified by the hospital, including critical equipment and technology that supported PRHC’s new designation as a Level III Trauma Centre 
For more information or to support the Campaign for PRHC, please donate online or call 705-876-5000.

We can design our healthcare future or let it be designed for us

A message to donors from Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation’s President & CEO:

“What an incredible feeling it is to share the biggest news in our Foundation’s history: the launch of the $60 million Campaign for PRHC.

Walking the Health Centre hallways, I see firsthand the power and joy of your philanthropy. Your donations touch every part of our hospital, ensuring top-quality healthcare is available close to home. You’ve funded millions of dollars in equipment and technology, and the very building where we all receive care.

For some patients, your generosity has meant the difference between life and death. For others, it’s meant accessing the best care available instead of none at all. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

But our work isn’t done. Twenty-five years ago, donors started the campaign to build this hospital, and now, we stand on the cusp of the next generation of care.

Our Health Centre and the communities we serve face serious challenges, and we need creative, efficient solutions to tackle them. The choice is ours: design our healthcare future or let it be designed for us.

For 16 years, I’ve had the honour and privilege of working with generous and caring donors every day. The collective pride and sense of responsibility we feel for PRHC’s patients is unparalleled. So, at this pivotal moment in our journey, we’re rallying once again and rising to the occasion, refusing to accept the status quo.

Your gifts to the Campaign for PRHC uphold our shared belief that we are the architects of our healthcare future. By funding state-of-the-art technology, fuelling innovation, bringing lifesaving new services, and positioning our hospital to attract expert healthcare providers, we’re ushering in a new era of care for our region.

Together, we’re reimagining health and care at our hospital.

On behalf of everyone at the PRHC Foundation and PRHC, especially patients and their loved ones, thank you for your support.”

WATCH Heart of Healthcare, Episode 4, where Lesley Heighway talks to local media personality and Foundation donor, Mike Melnik, about the $60 million Campaign for PRHC – the biggest in its history – and addresses a common concern: Facing system-wide healthcare challenges, how can we make sure PRHC’s patients don’t get left behind?

For more information or to support the Campaign for PRHC, please donate online or call 705-876-5000.

Cancer Takedown: A spirit-raiser and fundraiser

Cancer Takedown is a spirit-raiser for anyone touched by cancer. This night of song and solidarity brings attention to the mental and emotional burden of cancer and unites people through shared experience, while fundraising for cancer care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. 

The third annual event will feature performances by Kate Suhr, Melissa Payne, The Weber Brothers, Linda Kash, Megan Murphy, Kate Brioux, Denise Oucharek, and Anthony Bastianon.  

  • Date: Thursday, November 7th, 2024  
  • Location: Market Hall 
  • Tickets: Buy here
  • T-shirts: Email Amy

Check out the highlights reel from last year’s concert…

Get ready to ride: Join the Hunter Fondo in support of lifesaving care at two hospitals

The Peterborough Cycling Club presents the 3rd Annual Hunter Fondo, Saturday, September 14th, in memory of cycling enthusiast John Hunter. 

This year’s ride will feature a choose your own adventure poker ride. Sign up for the:

  • 30k Trail Heaven
  • 50k Pastry Ride
  • 75k Frappe le Rue 
  • 125k It’s Going to be an Easy Ride

Whichever ride you pick, all cyclists will start at 100 Acre Brewery. On your way, grab a coffee and pastry at local favourite Pastry Peddler, and visit Sprinkle n’ Things before heading home to enjoy a meal prepared by Ashburnham Ale House at 100 Acre Brewery.

Proceeds will be split between the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation and Campbellford Memorial Hospital Foundation. At PRHC, funds raised will support the advancement of world-class cardiac care in our region. Visit the PCC website for more information or to register.

Rock ‘N You For The NICU in support of PRHC’s tiniest patients

Calling all music lovers! On September 28, Erben will be hosting a night of live music benefitting Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The concert, sponsored by David O’Connor Real Estate and Johnny on the Spot, will be emceed by Bill Porter of Oldies 96.7. With headliners Washboard Hank and Cadence Grace, the night will showcase a mix of local and visiting talent, spanning genres such as rock, country, pop, folk, and Irish — all in support of PRHC’s tiniest patients. 

David O’Connor was inspired to create this event in honour of the care his son received in the NICU. David shared: “My son was a patient at the Peterborough NICU for five days after he was born and it was a very scary time for us. Our experience with the NICU was extremely positive as the care was outstanding.”

Rock ‘N You For The NICU 

  • Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024 – doors open at 6pm   
  • Location: Erben at 379 George St. N, Peterborough, ON
  • Tickets: $10 each, can be purchased here or at the door 
  • Direct donations can be made here – your donation will go twice as far because the two title sponsors are generously matching donations up to $500 each ($1,000 total) 

For more information about the event, please visit the event page.

Karma Yoga in the Park supporting cancer care at PRHC

Karma Yoga in the Park is a community-driven initiative where Bobcaygeon yoga teachers offer classes on a donation basis, with all proceeds supporting local causes and organizations. PRHC Foundation is honoured to have been chosen as beneficiary of DiscoverTree Holistic Support Services’ Lauren Bernard’s upcoming class. 

All funds raised at Lauren’s Yoga in the Park class will be donated in support of cancer care at PRHC – inspired by the care she received as part of her own journey with breast cancer. 

  • Date: August 31, 2024 at 10am
  • Location: Lock 32 Pavillion, Bobcaygeon, ON 
  • Donations: Classes are by donation, please bring cash or give online here

No reservations required, but please bring your own yoga mat and water. For more information or questions, please visit the DiscoverTree Holistic Support Services website. 

Grateful cancer patient sharing her journey through her personal fundraising page

“I was worried. I have two young daughters; how could I not be scared for how this could alter their lives? My youngest is 5, would she even remember me?”

Meet Diana Freeman, a devoted mom, loving wife, and dedicated professional. At just 38, her world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March.

Diana shares, “Surviving cancer is not just clearing your body of the disease; it is healing the body while battling the fears and emotions that come with it. And to survive, it starts with having hope. For many, including myself, the seed of hope is first planted at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.”

Inspired by the desire to give back for the expert, compassionate care she is receiving, Diana has launched a fundraiser in support of cancer care at PRHC. She is sharing her journey through breast cancer treatment on her social media channels and personal fundraising page, to inspire others, raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of self-assessments, and to highlight the significance of expert, compassionate cancer care close to home.

As of May 2024, just two months after her diagnosis, Diana has already raised almost $5,000 for cancer care at PRHC. The funds raised will help the Health Centre invest in new state-of-the-art equipment and technology, support earlier cancer diagnosis, and provide safer, more effective treatments for more patients.

By supporting Diana’s fundraiser, you can help PRHC continue to provide the highest quality of cancer care, close to home.

Follow Diana’s brave journey and support her mission by clicking here to stay updated and make a donation.

Your support can help PRHC’s doctors perform more precise tumour removals and reduce surgery wait times

In the moments immediately following surgery, many breast cancer patients ask one important question: “Did you get it all?”

Dr. Brie Banks, a general surgeon at PRHC, knows how much this question means to them. It’s not just about the surgery.

“When patients ask, ‘Did you get it all?’ they’re really asking if they have permission to hope,” says Dr. Banks. “They want to know if the surgery went well and if they’re on the road to recovery.”

Breast cancer affects 12,500 women every year in Ontario, and those numbers continue to rise. Nearly all of those women will need surgery as part of their treatment—a lumpectomy being one of them.

Waiting for cancer surgery can be unbearable. Time crawls.

Patients have many worries: Is the cancer spreading? Will the surgery work? What will I look like after?

When patients arrive hours early at PRHC on the morning of their surgery, currently the first thing on the to-do list is having an eight-inch wire inserted into the breast by a radiologist, to mark the tumour.

Then, the patient waits, sitting for hours in a hospital gown with the wire protruding. It’s uncomfortable and frightening.

If the wire shifts, it complicates the surgery, making it difficult to remove all of the tumour without taking too much healthy tissue. It’s a process that adds anxiety and risk to an already difficult day.

There is a technology that can improve this aspect of breast cancer patient care and transform the experience for thousands of breast cancer patients in our region. It can make surgery easier and more precise, and reduce a patient’s worry and wait. It’s called breast seed localization technology and the PRHC Foundation is committed to funding it at PRHC.

With this new technology, a radiologist will place a tiny radioactive seed, as small as a grain of rice, instead of a wire to mark the cancer. This can be done a month before surgery and takes only 15 minutes. After placing the seed, patients can go back to their daily lives.

Then, during surgery, surgeons use a special tool to find and remove the tumour using the seed as a guide. This results in less scarring and physical change to the breast.

Beyond improving patient care, this new wireless technology will allow Dr. Banks and her colleagues to perform more lumpectomies—without the time constraints that come with wire placement on the day of surgery. With breast seed localization, doctors at PRHC can operate on three more breast cancer patients a day. More surgeries will mean more patients get the care they need, sooner. 

Dr. Banks says donor support will directly shape the care she can provide, especially since the government doesn’t fund hospital equipment at PRHC. “Your donation will allow more patients to hear those comforting words, ‘We got it all,’ and give them hope.”

She became a donor herself because she’s seen the difference this technology makes in the patient experience during an already challenging time. “It offers a better option for breast cancer surgery. I want this available for my patients.”

You, too, can help shape the future of patient care at your hospital. To donate or for more information, call 705-876-5000 or click here.