Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation Provides $30,000 in Funding for Annual Comfort and Care Grant Program

Sydney, N.S. – With more than $256,000 in grant requests, the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation continues to support patients and staff at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital through the Comfort and Care Grant Program.

This year’s grant program consisted of $30,000 in funding, dedicated to areas that will enhance patient and staff satisfaction and quality of care. The grant program was open to all employees and physicians at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

"The Comfort and Care Grant is very important to us at the Foundation," explains CEO, Brad Jacobs. "Staff at the Regional Hospital is on the front lines and knows exactly what is needed for patient comfort and staff satisfaction. This grant gives them the opportunity to see these projects through and improve quality of care at the Regional Hospital."

A selection committee, consisting of Hospital Foundation representatives and community volunteers, reviewed all fifty one grant applications and selected the successful applicants based on an established criteria relating directly to patients and staff benefit. The successful applicants were notified this morning and have one year to access the grant funds. In addition to the $30,000 in funding, the Foundation was able to fund an additional $21,000 and some donors stepped up to the plate to fund some of these requests on their own.

"We had a few of our donors who heard about the grant program and wanted to privately fund some of the requests," says Cheryl Marsh, Development Officer with the Foundation. "We have one donor interested in funding a music program for the mental health and addictions unit and another donor has funded phototherapy lights for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It’s amazing that when donors see a need, they jump in to make an impact here in Cape Breton."

Since the inception of the Comfort and Care Grants in 2008, more than $300,000 in funding has been provided for projects throughout the Regional Hospital—projects that otherwise would not have been funded.