PRHC Foundation President & CEO receives prestigious Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy designation

PRHC Foundation President & CEO Lesley Heighway outside the hospital

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation is pleased to announce that President & CEO Lesley Heighway has been awarded the designation of Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy in recognition of her fundraising leadership on behalf of Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) is an international professional organization dedicated to healthcare philanthropy. The Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (FAHP) is a designation bestowed on AHP members who have made significant contributions to the profession.

Candidates must meet rigorous criteria including: career success that has had a transformative effect on the organizations they’ve supported; demonstrated leadership, mentorship and community service; and a comprehensive knowledge of healthcare governance and philanthropy. Of AHP’s 4,500 members at more than 2,200 healthcare facilities around the world, only 2% of AHP members have received the FAHP designation, with Heighway one of three selected in 2021.

Linda Skilton, Chair, PRHC Foundation Board of Directors made the announcement on behalf of the Foundation, adding that the honour is not only prestigious but well-deserved.

“In Lesley’s ten years as President & CEO, she’s worked tirelessly with donors from across the region to fund the equipment and technology that form the foundation of world-class care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre,” said Skilton. “Her success is fueled by a passion for healthcare that has inspired $30 million in donations in the past five years alone.”

Skilton added, “As a champion of innovation, her strategic and visionary leadership has led to incredible advances in patient care, brought new, life-saving services to our region, and helped our hospital attract and retain some of the best and brightest in medicine. The Fellow of AHP designation is an extremely well-deserved recognition of her many achievements.”

Dr. Peter McLaughlin, PRHC President & CEO, has worked closely with Lesley during her tenure at the Foundation and says she is a trusted leader, recognized by the sector and community as an authority on best practices in philanthropy.

“Lesley is highly-regarded by the Foundation and PRHC boards, hospital staff and leadership, and our donors,” said McLaughlin. “Her record of fundraising success and the impact our Foundation’s donors have had and continue to have on patient care at PRHC speak volumes about her performance, integrity and professionalism.”

Have a “Cuppa Tea for Breast Cancer Awareness”

Amanda Johansen holds up some Sipology products

For the month of October – Breast Cancer Awareness month – Amanda Johansen will be donating 25% of her Sipology tea and teaware sales to the PRHC Foundation to help fund a new diagnostic ultrasound for Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Breast Assessment Centre. 

Thank you, Amanda, for helping to ensure individualized, compassionate cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment is available to patients from across our region!

To view the current Sipology catalogue or place an order through Amanda, please visit Amanda’s Cuppa Tea.

RBC Foundation’s $5,000 gift in support of mental health care

Representatives from PRHC Foundation and RBC pose with a big cheque

On behalf of the PRHC Foundation, President & CEO, Lesley Heighway (left), gratefully received a generous donation of $5,000 from RBC Foundation. Presented by RBC Community Manager Peterborough & Lakefield, Karalee Murray (centre) and RBC Regional Vice President, Glen Dormody (right), this wonderful gift is in support of Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Talk Now Mental Health and Addictions clinic.

The Talk Now clinic provides mental health care and addictions services to patients of all ages. It is a partnership between PRHC, Peterborough Youth Services, Canadian Mental Health Association HKPR, Four Counties Addiction Services team, Kinark Child and Family Services, and the Peterborough Family Health Team.

2021 Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival raises $91,853.20!

Peterborough's Dragon Boat Festival 2021 cheque presentation

PRHC Foundation was honoured to receive the proceeds from the 2021 Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival – an amazing $91,853.20! Wow! Thank you!

2021 marked the Festival’s 20th anniversary and their second year as a virtual event. Their incredible 2021 donation brings their 20-year fundraising total to more than $3.7 million for breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. 

The proceeds of this year’s Festival will help fund a new, state-of-the-art diagnostic ultrasound for the Breast Assessment Centre – enabling even better quality images so radiologists can detect the smallest and most difficult-to-see abnormalities quickly and accurately. It’s cutting-edge technology that will help our doctors, nurses and staff save lives.

Thank you so much to the Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team, the amazing organizing committee, Platinum Sponsor Kawartha Credit Union, and all the participants, fundraisers, sponsors, volunteers and donors who made this possible. We hope to see you again next year! In fact, planning for the 2022 Festival is already underway so stay tuned…

Millbrook bottle drive proceeds support PRHC’s healthcare workers

Millbrook Farm & Pet Supplies donation to the PRHC Foundation

Throughout July, Millbrook Farm & Pet Supplies held a bottle drive in support of Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s hardworking healthcare workers…and what a wonderful response from the community!

Thank you, Millbrook Farm & Pet Supplies and everyone who dropped off empties there, resulting in a generous donation of $3,100 to the PRHC Foundation that will help fund the advanced equipment and technology your regional hospital team uses to provide world-class care!

Bennett’s lawn sign initiative raises $2,002 in support of PRHC

Bennett's team present their donation

This past year, Bennett’s Furniture and Mattresses ran a lawn sign campaign to recognize and thank area hospital workers. For every sign customers displayed on their lawn, Bennett’s made a donation in support of a local hospital, including $2,002 to the PRHC Foundation!

Thank you to Bennett’s Home Furnishings for their generosity and dedication to their communities, and to their wonderful customers for showing their appreciation of healthcare providers through this great initiative!

Ushering in a new era of healthcare at PRHC

Cardiac doctor hugging patient at bedside

So much has been happening at Peterborough Regional Health Centre! We’re sharing a few of the highlights as we reflect on the last year and look ahead to the future of healthcare at PRHC…

For so many of us, the pandemic highlighted just how fortunate we are to have outstanding healthcare available in our region when we need it most.

Throughout COVID-19, your hospital’s role in our region became increasingly important, especially during the third wave when a critical care surge threatened to overwhelm Intensive Care Units across Ontario.

PRHC served as the lead for the five hospitals in our region and was the receiving hospital for patient transfers. The Health Centre ramped up its critical care capacity and over five months, accepted 76 patient transfers from outside our region to support the system-wide response to the surge.

As vaccination rates rose and case counts trended downwards, PRHC began ramping up non-urgent services and adjusted its visiting policy. No matter what comes, however, your hospital continues to manage and carefully allocate resources within this challenging healthcare landscape while continuing to advocate for the current and future patient care needs of PRHC, our community and our region.

Peterborough has become one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, with one of the oldest populations. During the past five years, PRHC has seen increases in its patient volumes and the level of care those patients need. In response, the Health Centre has expanded and enhanced programs and services as both a community hospital and a regional referral hub for our surrounding communities. Their goal and ours remains the same: to continue to bring specialized care closer to home for patients. That’s a mission that’s never been more important.

One exciting project underway is the launch of PRHC’s Clinical Information System (CIS), Epic. Launching a CIS is one of the most important transformations a hospital can make. It’s been almost a decade in the works at PRHC. Epic will enable seamless access to health information across the Health Centre and six other hospital organizations, enhancing patient safety and quality of care. This collaboration represents the largest number of individual organizations joining together on the Epic system in Ontario. It will transform the way healthcare is delivered for generations to come.

Looking ahead to the next five, 10 and 20 years of the hospital’s evolution, PRHC is in the early stages of its Master Planning process.

In its bold vision for the future, PRHC will be the go-to large acute care hospital between Kingston and the Greater Toronto Area for patients to receive care. We and our donors will be by their side, helping fund essential equipment and technology, and exciting innovations, to support this transformation.

Thank you for your continued support as we usher in the next era of healthcare in our region!