Read an e-version of the PRHC Foundation’s Spring 2025 issue of The Pulse newsletter to find out more about how you are reimagining patient care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Spring 2025 issue of The Pulse newsletter
The Century 21 Lakers are partnering with us for the 2025 season!
The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers are teaming up with the PRHC Foundation for the 2025 Major Series Lacrosse season! This collaboration brings together two legacy organizations in our region through a shared goal of supporting world-class care, close to home.
“The Lakers are all about community, and it doesn’t get more ‘community’ than supporting the doctors, nurses and staff at our regional hospital,” says Lakers board member Len Powers. “PRHC is where our families turn in moments of greatest need and the Lakers are excited to rally around the Campaign for PRHC and support our regional hospital.”
The Campaign for PRHC publicly launched in 2024 with $52.9 million raised to date. The goal is to help PRHC invest in state-of-the-art technology, bring new lifesaving services to our region, fuel innovation, and attract the best and brightest healthcare professionals.
Throughout the 2025 MSL season, PRHC Foundation team members and volunteers – the reImagineers – will be at Lakers home games, where fans can learn more about the campaign and how to get involved. The Lakers will be selling limited edition merchandise with proceeds from sales supporting the campaign.
The Lakers will also host a special PRHC Family Night on Thursday, June 26, when they welcome the Cobourg Kodiaks. PRHC staff will receive a promo code to purchase tickets at a discounted price. The Lakeshow will wear special Canada Day themed jerseys for the game and these sweaters will be auctioned off after the match in support of the Campaign for PRHC.
“The Lakers are a championship organization with strong community ties,” says PRHC Foundation President & CEO, Lesley Heighway. “Just like our regional hospital, they represent dedication, heart, and excellence. We know how strongly this community rallies around the Lakeshow and PRHC, so together, we can help reimagine healthcare in our region.”
Peterborough Century 21 Lakers PRHC Family Night
The Lakers are hosting a special PRHC Family Night on Thursday, June 26, when they welcome the Cobourg Kodiaks.
PRHC staff will receive a promo code to purchase tickets at a discounted price. The Lakeshow will wear special Canada Day themed jerseys for the game and these sweaters will be auctioned off after the match in support of the Campaign for PRHC.
Being kind is sweet at PRHC: Couture Candy now at the Gift Shop!
Exciting news! Couture Candy PTBO’s sweet treats are now available at the PRHC Foundation Gift Shop. Couture Candy owners Lisa and Matt Couture, who are Campaign for PRHC ambassadors and longtime supporters of the Foundation, joined PRHC Foundation team members in the hospital cafeteria for the launch on Thursday, April 24. Thank you, Couture Candy, for your ongoing partnership!
Various sized bags of mixed candies and a pick ‘n’ mix trio pack were for sale in the cafeteria over the lunch hour and will be available in the Gift Shop – located on the fourth floor of the hospital just inside the main entrance – going forward.
PRHC Foundation Gift Shop proceeds, including those from the sale of Couture Candy at the Gift Shop, support patient care at PRHC. They help fund equipment and technology – not funded by the government – that doctors, nurses and staff use to save and change lives.
Pictured from left to right: Bethany Dainton, PRHC Foundation Manager of Community Giving & Engagement, Patty Serota, PRHC Foundation Gift Shop Coordinator, Lisa Couture and Matt Couture.
Finance & Administrative Assistant
Due to an internal promotion, we’re looking for a new Finance & Administrative Assistant – the next great member of our team. Is it you? If you believe as we do that reimagining healthcare at Peterborough Regional Health Centre has never been more important than it is right now, read on!
Continue readingGiddy up for the 2nd annual Jackpot Barrel Race at Trent River Stables
Get ready for an action-packed day at Trent River Stables. It’s the 2nd annual Jackpot Barrel Race in support of cancer care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Continue readingDonor-funded digital pathology will be a game-changer for cancer care at PRHC
Powered by the PRHC Foundation’s $60 million Campaign for PRHC, our regional hospital will bring critical advancements like digital pathology to our region, keeping Peterborough Regional Health Centre at the forefront of medical innovation.
With the help of donors, PRHC is committed to transforming the future of healthcare in our community, and digital pathology is a key part of that vision. “Almost everyone will be impacted by cancer at some point in their life,” says pathologist Dr. Katie O’Reilly, PRHC’s Medical Director of Laboratory Medicine and PRHC Foundation ambassador for digital pathology. “If we don’t make a strategic decision now to digitize the pathology lab, we and our region’s patients will be left behind.”
Dr. O’Reilly is often asked what pathology is. Many people are unaware of the laboratory or what they do there, but it’s essential to many areas of care, including cancer care.
“If you come to the hospital for cancer care, there’s going to be some decision made in our laboratory in some way,” says Dr. O’Reilly. Pathology plays a vital role in cancer diagnosis and treatment planning. Digital pathology can speed up the process. Instead of relying on traditional glass slides, high-resolution digital images can be shared electronically between laboratories and pathologists, no matter where they’re located, making collaboration easier.
Right now, there’s a shortage of pathologists everywhere and cancer rates are on the rise – there were over 23,000 cancer care visits last year at PRHC. In addition, PRHC’s laboratory provides support for four partner hospitals. In total, 2.3 million tests were run through the laboratory in the last year.
Dr. O’Reilly believes this innovative technology will be a game changer for patient care in our region. “There’s more work than there are pathologists, so we’re hoping digital pathology can help us do more with less,” says Dr. O’Reilly.
Bringing digital pathology to PRHC will have many benefits, including:
- Faster test result turnaround times for patients and physicians
- Quicker diagnoses and treatment decisions for patients
- Ability for pathologists to share and consult digitally
- Improved accuracy
With continued investment from donors, the PRHC Foundation’s $60 million Campaign for PRHC will help bring this state-of-the-art solution to our regional hospital.
“Donor support is essential to making digital pathology a reality at PRHC,” says Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation President & CEO. “Our donors are the driving force behind this campaign, helping us bring vital advancements in healthcare to our region.”
Dr. O’Reilly believes now is the time to bring this essential technology to PRHC and she knows it can’t be done without donor support: “Every bit of our work is possible because of the generosity of donors. Thank you so much.”
For more information or to donate, please call 705-876-5000 or click here.
Joe and Ashley’s gift of health
Joe Curry describes his family’s decision to donate a life insurance policy in support of PRHC:
“I often think of Peterborough Regional Health Centre as the beating heart of our community. We’re so fortunate to have such a world-class regional hospital here in Peterborough.
When my wife Ashley and I think about the future, and the legacy we want to leave behind, PRHC is always top of mind. After all, Ashley’s a labour and delivery nurse at PRHC – which happens to be where both our boys were born.
The hospital is a constant, comforting fixture – both in our family and in this community. That’s why, when Ashley and I started thinking about our estate plans, we knew we wanted to include PRHC. As a financial planner and advisor, I knew there were plenty of ways to do this.
We settled on a life insurance policy, then immediately donated it to the PRHC Foundation. When Ashley and I are no longer here, the benefit will be paid to the Foundation. We still pay the premiums every year, but because the Foundation owns the policy, we receive a charitable donation receipt.
For my family, we can’t think of a better gift than the gift of health. That’s why we’ve chosen PRHC, so the people we love – and the people they love – will be able to get the best healthcare possible when they need it most.”
For more information on legacy or planned giving, or to share your donor story, please call 705-876-5000.
PRHC Foundation is part of Split the Pot community lottery!
We’re excited to announce that you can now support Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation through the Split the Pot Lottery!
With 73 hospital foundations across Ontario working together, Split the Pot is creating bigger prizes and more impact in our communities. Lottery players have the chance to win cash, and foundation partners across the province, like the PRHC Foundation, get the funds they need to continue changing and saving lives.
With more prize winners and big cash and other prizes – including Early Bird draws and multiple chances to be a Grand Prize winner – there’s never been a more rewarding time to support PRHC Foundation and play the lottery.
Visit splitthepot.ca to purchase tickets online and for more information on the prize breakdown, Early Bird deadlines, participating foundations and more. Or you can call 1-833-804-6262 to place your order over the phone.
Jennie Ireland knows donor support can save a life
When Jennie Ireland got the diagnosis she’d been dreading, she suddenly found herself a 42-year-old single mom with breast cancer, scared of what her illness would mean for her son. But being able to get care in her community with donor-funded equipment meant less worry. “Receiving care at PRHC was my lifeline,” she says.
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