The Health Foundation and GX94/FOX FM will be hosting the fifth annual Airwaves for Health Radiothon on April 25 and 26.
This year's event will launch the newest campaign for The Health Foundation, funding the development of a conceptual plan for a new hospital to be constructed in Yorkton. The plan is projected to cost $180,000 in total, and will give direction to any new facilities proposed for the region.
The event has been a success in the past, raising over $220,000 over four years, and allowing the region to implement new programs such as digital mammography and heart and stroke programs.
As in the past, all donations will go directly to the cause, as the on-air costs from GX94 and FOX FM, space at the Parkland Mall, and phone lines from SaskTel are all provided at no charge.
"Obviously, health care is first and foremost in everybody's mind, and anything we can contribute and do through our facilities here to further enhance that is great, and that's what we're all about," says Lyle Walsh, General Manager of GX94 and FOX FM.
Ross Fisher, executive director of The Health Foundation, says that the Radiothon is about more than raising money, but also telling people where that money goes and how it helps the region. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals will be interviewed for the event and will discuss the benefits of a new hospital in the region.
A conceptual plan is important not just for building a facility, but also building the right facility, Fisher explains.
"At this point, we don't know what that facility might be, that is in part the reason for a conceptual plan.
Through the course of the next while, we'll be talking about the services we want to see, where we will locate a facility, what we will do with the existing facility, when we can move forward, and what would be the benefits. It's important to remember we're not building the hospital tomorrow. We're building it soon, but we're building it for ten years out, and twenty years out," Fisher says.
It is important to get the plan right because of the long term nature of any facility, Fisher notes. The current hospital is 50 years old, and any new building would be expected to be just as long lived. The need for a new building is related to capacity issues, Fisher explains, as some programs simply do not have the room to expand in the current building. With the growth in the region, Fisher notes that now is the time to start planning for the future.
