Len Powers has never forgotten the anxiety of waiting for answers that confirmed he had prostate cancer. That’s why he believes strongly in what the PRHC Foundation is raising funds for right now. He wants to help bring state-of-the-art digital pathology to our region.
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When Mike Leach was diagnosed with a serious diabetic ulcer, his surgeon delivered a stark warning, “without surgery, you could lose your foot.” Suddenly, Mike was facing not one, but two urgent, lifesaving vascular surgeries at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).
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Grateful PRHC vascular care patient and PRHC Foundation donor Mike Leach tells his patient story with the hope that you’ll donate to bring a hybrid operating room to Peterborough Regional Health Centre…
“I’m Mike Leach, and I wouldn’t be here today without PRHC and PRHC Foundation donors.
For a long time, I ignored it. My legs felt heavy. My calves cramped like bricks. Even walking short distances was exhausting.
What started as a small blister turned into a serious diabetic ulcer. I was told that without surgery, I could lose my foot.
At PRHC, my vascular surgeon Dr. Sajjid Hossain performed two separate procedures to restore blood flow in my legs: one to place a stent and another to open blocked arteries. Both surgeries worked, but they had to be done separately.
Two surgeries. Two recoveries. Twice the risk.
If PRHC had a hybrid operating room, both procedures could have been done at the same time, in the same room, with less risk and a faster recovery.
That’s why I’m asking for your help today.
Your gift will help bring a state-of-the-art hybrid OR to PRHC. With a hybrid OR, procedures will take less time. Patients will face fewer complications and recover faster. And advanced imaging will help experts like Dr. Hossain be even more precise, spotting and managing complications right away, while keeping patients like me close to home.
Thanks to PRHC and donors, I got my independence back. I can work, garden (even if weeds are the only thing I seem to grow), and tinker in the garage. None of this would have been possible without this hospital, or the lifesaving equipment past generosity has supported.
That’s why your support matters so much. Because without your crucial investments in cutting-edge equipment, patients like me could lose more than mobility, we could lose our independence, our livelihoods, even our lives.
Your gift today will help build a hybrid operating room that will transform care for patients like me, reducing risk, shortening recovery, and giving more people in our region the chance to keep living life to the fullest. Especially since the government doesn’t fund hospital equipment. Your generosity is the only way to bring this lifesaving technology to PRHC, and to patients like me.
Thank you.”
To join Mike in donating in support of a hybrid OR, please click here.
On December 9, the Reactivation Care Centre opened its doors at Peterborough Regional Health Centre, providing patients with specialized care so they can return home safely. PRHC Foundation donors helped make this possible through $400,000 in funding.
The 12-bed Reactivation Care Centre is helping PRHC patients navigate their next steps with a new treatment model. With a focus on seniors, the Centre supports patients through short-stay admissions, where each individual works towards specific goals so they can return home in safety and comfort.
“The Reactivation Care Unit is a pilot project, ensuring that every patient has access to specialized, restorative care to prepare them for a successful discharge from the hospital,” says Dr. Lynn Mikula, President & CEO of PRHC. “It’s also helping our hospital address the increasing demands of our growing and aging community in the region.”
At the heart of the Centre is a team of skilled professionals who provide personalized, comprehensive care, working closely with caregivers as essential partners in the recovery process. This team-based approach ensures that each patient’s unique needs are met—patients like Flo Cranley (pictured above), who expressed her thanks to donors for their support of the new facility and its equipment.
Another patient benefiting from the Reactivation Care Centre is Jeff Dumoulin (pictured). A 65-year-old horse trainer, Jeff was injured in an accident with one of his horses in 2022. The incident left him with long-lasting mobility challenges, leading to frequent stays in the hospital.
“I’ve been in and out of the hospital. Every time I return home, I end up falling and coming right back,” Jeff shares. “I was trying, but I needed more support.”
When Jeff found out that he had a spot in the new Reactivation Care Centre, he felt hopeful.
“The minute I walked in the door, the staff had a plan,” says Jeff. “This is the difference of whether I go home and can walk up and down my stairs again. Everyone in my life realizes I’m getting the help I need to get back to living a functional life.”
Stories like Jeff’s are made possible by the generosity of donors who understand the importance of world-class care, close to home. Thanks to their support, $400,000 in funding was provided to the Reactivation Care Centre through the PRHC Foundation’s Campaign for PRHC.
“One of the focus areas for the campaign is to address urgent needs at the hospital as they arise,” says Lesley Heighway, President & CEO of PRHC Foundation. She explains that ‘undesignated’ gifts to the Foundation can be directed to the highest priority need, which enables a quick response to the hospital’s most pressing requests. “So it’s you, donors, who enabled us to fund critical equipment such as patient beds, vital signs monitors, and specialized wheelchairs for the Centre,” she says.
“With these gifts you’re empowering us to do what the hospital needs, quickly, when they need it. Your support is truly reimagining healthcare. Thank you!”
For more information or to donate, please call 705-876-5000 or click here.
As the number of cancer cases in our region continues to grow, so does the urgency for faster, more precise diagnoses and treatment plans.
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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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In 2024, PRHC introduced exciting, new donor-funded technology for breast cancer patients called breast seed localization. As PRHC general surgeon Dr. Brie Banks explained at the Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival donation presentation in June, the technology is already making an impact on care.
Essentially, breast seed localization is a tiny radioactive seed, about the size of a grain of rice, placed directly at the site of a patient’s tumour. It helps surgeons locate the tumour more precisely during surgery.
This process is a big improvement from older methods, which were less comfortable, more invasive and stressful for patients. And the best part? Because of this donor-funded advancement, PRHC can perform more breast cancer surgeries every day. That means more patients are getting the care they need, faster.
“Having breast seed at PRHC has dramatically increased access to state-of-the-art surgery for breast cancer patients. Not only are we able to look after more patients in the day, but the process is much less difficult for them. Seed localization is more comfortable and convenient,” says Dr. Banks. “I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the donors who made this advancement possible.”
“You never expect it to happen to you until it does,” says Nick Beamish.
It was Christmas time in 2018, when Nick started feeling ‘off’. An athletic guy, who coached high school sports, Nick was used to pushing his limits, so when he began experiencing extreme exhaustion, he chalked it up to stress. But as the days went on, it became harder to ignore.
With a nudge from his wife, Nick went to the emergency department at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. There, doctors hooked him up to an electrocardiogram (ECG) to test his heart. Within minutes, alarm bells started going off. “Doctors were rushing over with carts, with paddles to shock me,” he says.
Doctors discovered he had a life-threatening issue with his heart rhythm. PRHC didn’t have a Cardiac Electrophysiology – or EP – Lab to provide the necessary treatment, so Nick was rushed to Kingston for care. He spent Christmas in the ICU there, far from home and family. “It was tough and a mental struggle,” says Nick.
Since then, he hasn’t had any issues with his heart. But Nick worries it could happen again – to himself or someone else. That’s why he’s become a donor, volunteer and ambassador for the PRHC Foundation’s $60 million Campaign for PRHC, supporting bringing lifesaving electrophysiology to our region.
With donor support, an advanced Cardiac EP Lab at PRHC will bring new, world-class cardiac treatment and therapies to our region for the first time, eliminating the need for patients to travel far from home for care during an already stressful and urgent time.
“It’s important to be able to get care closer to home. Donors can help make that happen,” says Nick.
For more information or to donate, please call 705-876-5000 or click here.
A severe mental health crisis led Ashley Webster to seek emergency care at PRHC. There she started to receive the tools she needed to make positive changes in her life. To say thanks for that care and inspire donations in support of other mental health patients, she’s sharing her story…
“Imagine a world that’s always dark, where every step feels heavy. To me, it felt like a never-ending night, where the light just couldn’t break through. When you’ve felt this darkness, you want to do whatever you can to stop someone else from feeling that same isolation.
During my treatment and recovery, my garden became my sanctuary. With the sunshine on my face and my hands in the soil, those difficult days felt a little brighter and easier to handle. But, like recovering from any illness, my journey to healing requires time and space.
Just like cardiologists and surgeons need the right technology to treat our bodies, mental health professionals need the right tools and facilities to treat our minds. That includes spaces that are specially designed for mental health patients: rooms with plenty of natural light, and secure outdoor areas that help patients heal in safety and in peace. Knowing how important my garden was to me during my darkest days, I became a PRHC Foundation donor to make sure others have healing spaces in their treatment for recovery.
Please join me in supporting modern mental health facilities at PRHC and be part of investing in the future of mental health care in our region.”
For more information or to donate, please call 705-876-5000 or click here.
It was 5:30 p.m. by the time Jennie Ireland got the diagnosis she’d been dreading. Suddenly, she was a 42-year-old single mom with a seven-year-old son, aging parents, and she’d just been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Looking back, it was an awful time,” Jennie says. On sleepless nights, she worried about what her illness would mean for her son, Liam. Could she take him to hockey practice and help him with his schoolwork? Would she be there to watch him grow up? “But I refused to give up hope,” she says. “And receiving care at PRHC was my lifeline.”
Jennie explains that being able to get care in her community with donor-funded technology meant less worry. Without it, she would have had to travel to Toronto, Oshawa or even Kingston for months on end. “I believe it had a positive impact on my recovery,” she says. “Because I was able to get care close to home, I could focus on what mattered most: Getting better and keeping life as normal as possible for my son.”
Like many people, Jennie was surprised to find out that the government doesn’t fund hospital equipment and that a population of more than 600,000 relies on PRHC for care. This includes people from the city and county of Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, east Durham, and the Haliburton Highlands.
Patients come to PRHC with a wide range of needs, from treatment for cancer, heart attacks and strokes, to surgery or mental health care. They may be seeking treatment in an emergency, or because of a chronic condition. Whatever the reason, Jennie wants to ensure that like her, others can get the care they need, close to home.
“I became a donor, volunteer fundraiser and a PRHC Foundation ambassador to help our hospital upgrade its technology so that more patients like me can get the care they need when they need it most,” says Jennie. “But PRHC can only do it with our help. I’d like everyone who can to join me in donating so doctors, nurses and staff have the best equipment to provide the best care.”
To donate, please call 705-876-5000 or click here.
