“It was an easy decision,” Daniel Hacault of Lorne Memorial Health Foundation presents $100,000 to BTHC Foundation

The expansion project of the Boundary Trails Health Centre has received additional funding.  

Daniel Hacault of Swan Lake, who serves as a board member of the Lorne Memorial Health Foundation, presented a $100,000 donation to the BTHC Foundation.  

“Because . . . Swan Lake Memorial Hospital is [now] a transitional facility, . . . the Lorne Memorial Health Foundation decided to donate to the expansion project at Boundary Trails,” says Hacault. “Part of the reason . . . is [that] our community members use [BTHC’s] facility extensively, and it's going to be a great benefit for cancer care, neonatal care, et cetera.”  

Hacault says that the funds had already been earmarked for the BTHC Foundation.  

“[The BTHC expansion] is something we want to support in our communities . . . . [I]t had widespread support right from the beginning.” 

Ben Friesen, the Chairman of the BTHC Foundation, is heartened by the donation.  

“The Municipality of Lorne had already committed to our expansion project, which is fantastic . . . . [I]t's nice to see that people understand the future of healthcare,” Friesen says. “[People] know that this is where they're going to be coming for their healthcare.”  

The donation will go into the “Building for the Future” fund that is a part of the BTHC expansion plan. Friesen says that by the time the 5-year expansion project is completed, there will be further projects with equipment needs and new initiatives to attract more healthcare workers to the region. The donation from the Lorne Memorial Health Foundation will go to support plans such as these.  

According to Friesen, one of the visions of the expansion is to work toward a future in which residents require fewer trips to Winnipeg and Brandon to access healthcare services, especially when it comes to cancer care.  

Friesen notes that the community's investment is widespread; BTHC Foundation has not only felt the support of Morden, Winkler, and Stanley, but the entire region of Southern Manitoba. 

To donate to the future of the Boundary Trails Health Centre, visit the BTHC Foundation page below.  

~With files from Robyn Wiebe~