The Red Deer Regional Hospital celebrated the kick-off of its most popular fundraising event, the 18th annual Hospital Home Lottery, supported this year by Sorento Custom Homes.
Representatives from the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation, Sorento Custom Homes and volunteers all gathered at the grand prize home, valued at $799,000 and located at 117 Lazaro Close.
The Sorento bungalow features 2,285 sq. ft. of custom living space, including 10 ft. ceilings, granite, creative storage throughout the home and three well-sized bedrooms. In addition to the actual home, there are 465 additional prizes to be won that include a heli-fishing tour in northern B.C, electronics and of course cash and vehicles.
Proceeds from the lottery this year will focus on the second phase of the Cardiac Enhancement Program at the hospital, which requires approximately $750,000 worth of equipment and installation costs.
“Cardiac care is something that affects so many people. In this City, if you have a heart attack there is a very good chance that you can’t be treated at our facilities,” said Cynthia de Bohr, project officer with the Red Deer Health Foundation. (RDHF).
“You’re going to need to be sent to Calgary or Edmonton. With the changes we want to make, more people of Central Alberta will actually be able to stay in Red Deer for their treatment. Cardiac care is critical. It’s important you get care as soon as possible – you don’t want to travel any further than you’ve already had to in order to get to the hospital.
“We think this is an incredibly important cause this year and we’re very proud to be supporting it.”
Tickets for the lottery are $35 each, three for $75, five for $100 or 15 for $250. Tickets can be purchased in the home or by calling 403-340-1878, or toll-free at 1-877-808-9005. The show home hours are March 11th- April 30th daily from 1- 5 p.m., May 1st – June 19th Wednesday to Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
As well, Hospital’s Mega Bucks 50 tickets are $10 each, 10 for $25 and 25 for $50. Those can be ordered online at hospitalslottery.com.
Early bird tickets sell until June 7th, with prizes ranging from a 2016 Harley Davidson Road King (with $50,000 cash), a $500 draw every day in June, with $5,000 on Canada Day.
“Specifically, we’ll be bringing in a few more monitored beds so that nurses can monitor their patient without having to leave the bedside into another area. The most interesting thing, I think, is that we’re installing 106 digital clocks throughout various areas of the cardiac units. Those clocks synchronize the time so that health care professionals can see exactly when the last treatment was given – something very important when you need medication at specific intervals. That’s a cool project this year that we’ll be funding,” de Bohr said.
Sylvia Barron, director of Emergency, Critical Care and Cardiology at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, was at the grand opening, pleased and honoured to have her programs being presented with the funds from the lottery.
“We were very lucky to be the recipients last year as well, which helped our first phase of the Cardiac Enhancement Program,” Barron said.
“For phase two we are expanding more cardiac monitors in the emergency department and enhancing computers at our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) central station. We’re also expanding the capacity of patients to be transferred from ICU to other Units to clear up room in the facility.”
kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com
