As a significant local employer and community supporter, Weyerhaeuser has always answered the call when the Lake of the Woods District Hospital needs support – and things are no different with the LWDH Foundation’s Beyond The Scan campaign.
One key component of the campaign is Northwestern Ontario’s first MRI machine, right here at LWDH, and Weyerhaeuser is donating more than $125,000 through their Community Grant Program to help get it done.
This breaks down to $10,000 from the local committee and $115,000 from the national committee.
Accounts Payable Administrative Assistant Joanne Love explained that Weyerhaeuser – one of the largest sustainable forest-product companies in the world, whose operations across North America include employing approximately 300 people in their Kenora wood-products mill – allots its operations a certain amount through this program based on the number of employees. Its purpose is to contribute to the needs of the community.
“Whatever people apply for, we try to work with them,” Love said.
Supporting the MRI acquisition was important to the committee.
This latest gift means that Weyerhaeuser’s long history of support for the community’s hospital over the last two decades brings their cumulative giving to an amazing $329,300.
The list includes:
- The original CT Scanner in 2002-03
- The Healthy Hospitals Project in 2007
- The prior Mammography Unit purchase (2012-2015)
- Contributions to the CT Scanner replacement (2017-18)
- Supporting the Dialysis Expansion (specifically the Reverse Osmosis Machine) in 2020
- The Fluoroscopy Project in 2021
- And now, Diagnostic Imaging through the Beyond the Scan Campaign
As commendable as the financial support is, Weyerhaeuser’s hands-on approach to community partnership is exemplary. Their employees have been actively engaged in the Foundation’s community initiatives, including regular participation in the LWDHF’s annual golf tournament. And former Weyerhaeuser employee Melanie Buffett, a Board Director, began her journey with the Foundation while still part of their team – a testament to the meaningful connections Weyerhaeuser fosters in our community.
Beyond the Scan is an $8.5-million capital campaign to establish a fully equipped and operational regional Diagnostic Imaging suite at LWDH by this fall. At $3 million, the MRI machine accounts for a hefty piece of the pie, but its value is immeasurable. This critical tool can address some of our most pressing health-care challenges, from cardiac care to the musculoskeletal fractures common in aging patients.
LWDH Chief Radiologist Dr. Catherine Murray says this service is “part of the gold standard of care for diagnostic imaging. It allows for improved diagnostic capabilities, better continuity of care and allows for faster triaging of patients.”
Conversely, its lack can have such profoundly negative outcomes as delayed diagnoses and treatments, as well as limited access to specialized care.
Love has special insights into the issue, as she also works as a casual Clinical Information Clerk at the hospital. From her desk, she said simply, “I see the need. We have people that utilize the hospital here – their children as well. There’s a lot of people that would utilize that directly.”
When it comes to vital services, like health care, Love said that there sometimes seems to be an invisible line at Sault Ste. Marie, and Ontarians north of there can feel as if they’re on their own. In terms of MRI service alone, the Kenora and area region has zero MRI machines, while the City of London in Southwestern Ontario has 11.
The closest one to Kenora in all of Northwestern Ontario is in Thunder Bay, six hours away, Love said – or patients might go to Manitoba. And those who need one sometimes face a year’s wait. The hope is not only to have the care closer to home, but to cut down those wait times.
“We are lucky that we have such a dedicated bunch of people at our hospital. They do try to serve us – we all know there are shortfalls. A lot of it is the area we are at,” Love said.
“I think it makes the community closer. Like anywhere, you have a core group of people, but there’s more help when it’s a closer-knit community.”
How to Donate to the Beyond The Scan Campaign
Donations are gratefully accepted:
- Online: BeyondTheScan.ca
- Phone: (807) 468-9861 x2469
- In Person: At the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation
- By Mail: 21 Sylvan St. W., Kenora, ON P9N 3W7