Last night, the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation and the YMCA of Cape Breton announced that they are partnering to host a golf tournament, in support of healthcare and healthy living for children in Cape Breton.

 The golf tournament, which will take place this summer, will be one of the largest and most entertaining tournaments in our region. This exciting partnership will support enhanced health for children of all ages in Cape Breton.

 Stay tuned for more details!

Pictured in the photo: Dr. Jacquelyn Thayer Scott, Chair, and Dwight Rudderham, Vice Chair, Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation Board of Directors and Andre Gallant, YMCA of Cape Breton CEO and Robin Gogan, Chair, YMCA Board of Directors, to announce the new partnership.

Bright lime green walls, new toys and lively, kid-friendly spaces are taking over the bland, clinical décor of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital’s Pediatrics Unit. And it’s all thanks to donors like you. 

Samantha St. Cry, pediatrics patient, checks out the new playroom and says, “it gets her approval for a great place to play!”

Donations from friends of the Foundation, like you, are at work to makeover the Pediatrics Unit at the Regional Hospital. This makeover will bring the comforts of home to the thousands of children and families that rely on this specialized Unit each year.

The toy room in the Pediatrics Unit is complete and the creation of a new family room will soon be underway. Next on the list for the Pediatrics Unit is a re-fresh of all 13 patient rooms. We are relying on donors like you to help make this possible.  

 When you support the Regional Hospital’s Kids Care Campaign you help provide the comforts of home to a child and their family during their stay in the Pediatrics Unit.

Pictured in the photo, from left to right – Craig Thiel, Liz Healy, both with the Cape Breton District Health Authority, Tom MacNeil, Medical Social Worker with the Cape Breton Cancer Centre and Melva Daley Smith, The Coast 89.7. Thiel, Healy, and Smith, volunteer members of the organizing committee of the Benefit Concert For The Cape Breton Cancer Centre, presented a cheque in support of the Cancer Patient Care Fund, December 9^th, 2011. The annual event is held at the Savoy Theater and all funds raised are donated to the Cancer Patient Care Fund. The event features local musicians and artists who all donate their talents to help Cape Bretoners receive the best possible cancer treatment here at home. This year’s event raised more than $17, 000. The upcoming concert will take place September 22^nd, 2011 at the Savoy Theater. Stay tuned for a list of performers. For more information on the benefit concert, you can visit www.cbcancercentre.com

Glenn Tutty, of Joy Gift and Jewelry joined by daughter Lynn MacKinnon and granddaughter Logan MacKinnon, centre, donated a giant Santa Sac full of children’s toys to the Pediatrics Unit of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. Accepting the donation are Mickey Daye, left, Clinical Nurse Lead and Tracey Warren, right, Child Life Specialist.

Glenn purchased the Santa Sac at this year’s 8^th Annual Festival of the Greens and knew that donating the toys back to the pediatrics unit at the Regional Hospital would be best. Glenn knows firsthand what it is like to have a child who needs to spend time in pediatrics and how important it is to have this unit here in the community. Growing up, daughter Lynn spent time in and out if the hospital here in Cape Breton as well as in Halifax.

Currently, the toy room in the Regional Hospital’s pediatrics unit is undergoing an upgrade. This donation of new toy could not have come at a better time for the children who enjoy this space.

The children of the pediatrics unit cannot thank you enough for the wonderful donation.

Lorne Baldin, Sydney Branch Manager and Heather Hogg, Regional Vice President of RCB Royal Bank present a cheque to Connie Gregory, centre, Director of the Cape Breton Cancer Centre and the An Cala Palliative Care Unit. This cheque of $10,000 is the third and final payment of a $50,000 commitment in support of the $5.5 million Cape Breton Cares Campaign. The Cape Breton Cares Campaign supports both the Cape Breton Cancer Centre and Neonatal Intensive Care at the Regional Hospital.

Thank you to RBC Royal Bank for the generous donation!