Cops for Kids, a charitable foundation comprised of RCMP and other regional policing officers, has given a generous $25,000 gift to KGH Foundation to support the acquisition of a private, pediatric patient room at Kelowna General Hospital.
The gift was made possible by proceeds from the Annual Cops for Kids Ride, their signature fundraising event, which sees police officers from across the region come together to ride the gruelling terrain of BC’s southern interior. The gift will allow pediatric patients recovering from surgery to rest and heal with their families in a private, comfortable setting.
“Our goal with Cops for Kids is to support the well-being of children in the communities we serve,” says Gail Harrison, President of the Cops for Kids Charitable Foundation. “Being in hospital is such a difficult time for anyone, let alone a child. This private room will really help KGH’s littlest patients be more comfortable while they are in hospital.”
In 2015, KGH opened the new Interior Heart and Surgical Centre (IHSC) and with it, expanded the hospital’s capacity to provide life-saving surgeries and execute complex medical procedures, including delicate pediatric operations. More than 500 elective and emergency pediatric surgeries are performed each year at KGH.
“Our littlest patients, like all KGH patients, deserve the best recovery environment we can give them,” says Doug Rankmore, CEO of KGH Foundation. “This gift will allow KGH to provide a quiet place for children to recover from surgery with the support of their family. We are very grateful to all the officers that sweat it out on their bikes every year to raise the funds necessary to make this gift possible.”
KGH Foundation’s Be A Lifesaver campaign successfully raised $12 million to support world-class surgical care right here in the Okanagan.
The 2017 Annual Cops for Kids Ride is taking place Sept. 8 to Sept. 17, 2017. For more information, visit their website at www.copsforkids.org/the-ride.
