Supporting a community hospital is a lifelong commitment for one Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation donor.

Since moving back to north Winnipeg with her husband in the mid-1980’s Grace Shedden, 78, has volunteered, attended fund-raising teas, made small but regular donations and even trekked to a rally at the Manitoba legislature with a placard in the 1990’s to ensure Seven Oaks Hospital is here for her family and community.

Grace’s late husband, Hamilton, was cared for on multiple occasions in Seven Oaks Hospital and he praised the compassionate nursing care he received. “They were very good here. We were fixtures here,” she said on a recent visit to the Foundation offices.

Her early experiences with the hospital included volunteering at patient registration, escorting patients to X-ray and other diagnostic tests, and helping to organize the Seven Oaks medical library.

“My big thing was I liked to visit patients who were from out of town or who had no visitors. I remember one man from Red Lake, Ontario who hadn’t spoken to anyone. I would just sit and talk to him and he wouldn’t say anything until one day I mentioned I was going to plant strawberries and he said ‘that’s not how you do it.’ He’d had a stroke and he was angry. Being in a hospital for so long was hard for him as an active man.”

Her donations started small, at $25 per year and grew as her circumstances improved, and she says if she had more money she’d give more.

“I know that most people think that a small donation does not mean much in light of some of the larger donations, but every donation is gratefully received and welcomed and really adds up over time,” she said.

Grace considers donating to her community hospital an obligation because she knows that while hospitals are funded for operating costs and critical repairs, it’s her donations and others that help to upgrade the facility, and that in turn helps to attract doctors and nurses to provide care.

“People should contribute, especially to their own hospital. If we’re going to use something we have to contribute to it,” she said.

Grace has also been a member at Wellness Institute, and hopes to attend there again soon. She is recovering now from her own time in hospital from a recent episode of arrhythmia and what doctors say was a mild heart attack.

“I don’t want to be in it, but I love this hospital. It’s part of my community, it’s part of my life,” she said.

That means she is also staying put in the Northwest corner of the city.

“There’s no way I’m moving out of here, to where there is another hospital. If I moved to St. James they’d have to bring me here, but I wouldn’t move out of this area because of the hospital and Wellness Institute.”

To find out more about annual giving or leaving a legacy, please contact Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation today at: (204) 632-3552 or

sogh.ca/foundation

Fall 2013 Newsletter

Supporting Your Community Hospital

Long time donor Grace Shedden outside the Foundation office in the atrium of Seven Oaks Hospital.

Innovation in COPD Care at Seven Oaks Hospital

Giving Begins in Your Own Backyard

A project at Seven Oaks Hospital has shown the way to improve care for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) to avoid unpleasant lung attacks, and expensive hospital visits.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder is an often undiagnosed, life-threatening lung disease that interferes with normal breathing, and is not fully reversible. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are included in the COPD diagnosis and it is the leading cause of admission to community hospitals in Winnipeg, and a major contributor to Emergency Department visits.

Last year Seven Oaks Hospital received funding from the Manitoba Patient Access Network to create an Integrated COPD Care Pathway that would proactively work with COPD patients, their physicians in the community, and community agencies to manage COPD better.

With over 150 participants in the project, mostly recruited as either in-patients at the Hospital or after ER visits, were given education for self-management; follow up medical care based on

best practice guidelines and enrolled in Pulmonary Rehabilitation at the Wellness Institute.

The results, documented in an evaluation, were dramatic even over the short duration of the project and showed:

• Improved management of symptoms by patients

• Reduced Emergency Department visits

• Reduced hospital admissions and re-admissions

• Dramatic reductions in the time that COPD patients spent in hospital.

“We expected to improve efficiency and patient outcomes when we first proposed this project,” said Seven Oaks Hospital President Carrie Solmundson. “We didn’t know that we’d see such dramatic improvement after just six months of patient participation.”

Seven Oaks is looking to extend and expand the Integrated Care Pathway as a permanent feature of care.

Last fall a group of youngsters took the initiative to support their local community hospital with the help of their neighbours and a garden full of vegetables.

Mike and Alex Dynkavitch along with their friends Doyal and Rishi Chahal worked together raising money for the Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation by selling their home-grown vegetables to neighbours.

When they had sold their produce they headed down to the Foundation office with the help of Mike and Alex’s mother Carol. They arrived with big smiles and a bag of change “to help the hospital.”

This is the first time the Foundation has received a donation from door to

door produce salespeople. The donation and their enthusiasm were greatly appreciated.

The Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation is here to support the hospital and our health care teams in their efforts to provide the best possible healthcare.

If you or an organization you are a part of has a fundraising idea or would like to find a way to support community healthcare here at Seven Oaks Hospital please contact the Foundation office or head to the Partnership & Sponsorship page at:

sogh.ca/foundation

Direct Your Donation with SOGH Foundation Funds

Planned Giving for the FutureMaking a Planned Gift to the Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation is a thoughtful way to make a lasting impact on the hospital into the future.

What is a Planned Gift?

It allows you to give in a way that makes the most sense for you and your family without affecting your current assets, lifestyle or beneficiaries.

No matter what your income level, you can support Seven Oaks Hospital with a significant gift, while taking care of your loved one’s needs.

Wills & Bequests

A bequest is a gift specified in your will. It is a simple and valuable way to support the hospital for future generations. You can allocate a certain sum of money, a particular asset, or a portion of your estate.

This summer the Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation created a set of funds directed to different hospital departments and programs.

The funds provide an opportunity for donors to direct where their gift should be used and to show appreciation for the important work done in different areas of the hospital.

Since the program began there have been several gifts including one to the Kidney Health Fund for a new television in the dialysis waiting room and a gift to

the Psychiatry/Mental Health Fund for new patient furniture.

If you or someone you know has benefited from the help from dedicated staff, join others in supporting these programs.

To inquire about making a gift please contact the Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation office today at 632-3552 or head to: sogh.ca/foundation.

The newly developed funds are:

Critical Care (ICU) Fund

Emergency Room Fund

Kidney Health Fund

Psychiatry/Mental Health Fund

Surgical Service Fund

Rehab Services Fund

Wellness Future Fund

Family Medicine Fund

RRSPs and RRIFs

You can also designate Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation as a beneficiary of your Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). By donating a RRSP or RRIF you will counteract the tax that would otherwise be payable by your estate.

Life Insurance

You may donate a new or existing policy and receive tax benefits during your life. If you name Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation as beneficiary of a policy you own, your estate receives the tax benefits.

Securities

Donating stocks or mutual funds is the most tax-effective way to leave a legacy. Securities such as stocks and bonds are accepted.

When donating securities to the Foundation, you do not pay tax on the transfer and will receive a tax receipt for the fair market value on the date of transfer. You may donate securities during your life or afterwards in your will.

More information on Planned Giving available at: sogh.ca/foundation

Albert KollingerAlbert ShekAlbert YuleAlex ColonelloAlfred R. PlischkeAlma HesseAmalia SustarsicAnna SolotarenkoAnne MasniukAnne MorozAntonio AndradeArboriteArmik BabakhaniansBarbica AndricevicBenjamin GoldbergBill RichardsonBlessed Virgin Mary UCWLCBoris PoredosBryan W. AdamsCarol A. MesserCarol WattingerCenzina CaligiuriClarence YellowbackDaciel De SousaDaniel G. MitchlerDaniel PaniskoDawn RittbergDenny LaiDonald LettersDonald McruerDonald T. LangDouglas RowanDwight GelhornEd MuzyczkaEdward Derback

Edward GlowackiEleanor PoulinElma PavlikEnzo BauerEstate of Olga CherewykFrank MazurFred StorozukGalarnyk Insurance Agency Ltd. c/o Basil and Judy GalarnykGeorge HnatiukGeorge SharaburakGeraldine GrundyGordon A. PasaluikoGordon CheungGordon DanzingerGordon DrysdaleH O. LindgrenHal HeuchertHal RyckmanHelen PlettHipolit MikuckiHoward J. ElliottI. S. KleimanImre RaczIrene A. ChomiakIvan KrasevecJ. Leonard LeBlancJack HagmanJack LevitJafinder BaliJames FearnsJames M. RussellJaswant SidhuJean HladkyjJeanette KwasnyJoan M. BenderJohn BerryJohn GarceaJohn HemmerlingJohn Szydlik

John WachowichJoseph CorbettJoseph GallJoseph P. WestKaran SinghKatherine GreenblatKatherine TomczijKazimierz SyposzKen BrownridgeKen HayesKenneth L. WiensKenneth ShimizuKnights of Columbus- Fr. Shyshkowich Council # 8925Krzysztof RadzikowskiLeo WaisbergLeonard A. BatemanLindsay MarrinLois C. MenschLorin K. CartwrightManitoba Prostate Cancer Support GroupMargaret DrallMarguerite L. KostynuikMartha BlawatMary MoniukMcPhillips Pharmacy LimitedMitzi’s Restaurant- Shirley EngMunich Plastering & Const. LtdMurray CrawfordN.J FreedmanNatalia ZaharaNellie G. HyworonNgoc LaiNicholas KatchurowskyNicole MercierNorma JamesOlga BoykoOlga DudkaOlive ArendtOliver Gardner

Paul D. PutnamPearl PersowichPeter MorozPeter NevePeter SteciukPeter WashchyshynR. & K. ChahalR.C.L. - Br. #30 - West K.Randolph A. WillettsRichard AdamsRicky SinghRobert MonnierRocky Lake Colony LtdRoger PaymentRon ChercoeRoy CampbellSarah KauenhowenSheldon WuShirley AlleyneSOGH Diagnostic Imaging/Cardiology Dept. StaffSpeed WalkerSt Josephs SeniorStanley DidkowskiSteve LischynskySteve SemeniukSydney GeorgisonT. A. ZelinskiTed JohnsonThe Canada Life Assurance CompanyTheresa A. ShawValdomiro De SousaVivian BarberWallace StaubWalter H. KruschelWalter KochanWalter LewinWerner FritzWilliam GemmellZorianna Hyworon

Your Generosity to Seven Oaks is Greatly AppreciatedThese donors gave $100 or more to general Foundation appeals and tribute giving between September 30, 2012 and September 30, 2013.

If the Wellness Institute has helped you, you can help others get the same support by donating to the Wellness Future Fund through annual donations or a legacy gift.

The Wellness Institute is a department of the Seven Oaks Hospital and is a self-supporting, non-profit enterprise. Membership and service fees cover most facility and program costs, but the charitable donations of individuals, foundations and businesses help us do more for the community through:

• Health Education programs

• Programs for chronic disease management

• Innovative program development and research

• Healthy living events for the community

Donations to the Wellness Future Fund, through the Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation, are held for this purpose.

More information on the Wellness Future Fund and other Funds at: sogh.ca/foundation

Giving the Gift of Wellness Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation

We are a dedicated to working with our community in support of the programs, services, equipment needs, and capital projects at Seven Oaks Hospital.

2300 McPhillips StreetWinnipeg, MB R2V 3M3SOGH_Foundation@sogh.mb.ca204-632-3552sogh.ca/foundation