History & Mission
About the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation
The Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation was founded on June 18, 1991 as the Prince George Regional Hospital (PGRH) Foundation, with Myron Sambad as founding president. It was established pursuant to the Societies Act and is governed by its own Board of Directors.
The Foundation works collaboratively with its Donors, Healthcare Partners and within the parameters of what is needed through the Northern Health Authority. It focuses on the Northern Region as a whole and the area served by the University Hospital of Northern BC, along with over 130 other facilities throughout the three service delivery areas of the Northern Interior (Prince George), Northwest (Terrace) and the Northeast (Fort St. John) and many destinations in between.
Mission
“Our Mission is to nurture our trusted relationships with our generous donors, healthcare and community partners, and champion exceptional health outcomes for Northern BC."
What We Do
The Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation was created to provide people meaningful opportunities to contribute to improving healthcare within the service area of the University Hospital of Northern BC, (UHNBC). Donors from throughout the Region have responded in a very generous way.
Since inception in 1991, close to $40 million has been contributed towards capital equipment and improvements, and support of education of healthcare workers and medical staff.
In the north, for the north
The great majority of funds have been invested to support the region and the largest facility to serve the region – UHNBC. However, since changing its name and expanding its mandate in 1998, the Foundation has issued grants throughout northern British Columbia. This is a practice it intends to build upon so that the funds are spent where they will both serve the interests of the donor and do the most good for the health of the people in the region. We believe strongly that what is good for communities throughout the Region is good for UHNBC and Prince George, and what is good for UHNBC is also good for the Region.
A key part of delivering stronger healthcare throughout the region will be in enhancing services provided through all locations and some of the main facilities.. As UHNBC is the primary referral centre for northern B.C., it is imperative that it be a focal point for quality healthcare for the people of the region. We promote this as a much better option to patients being referred down south and work diligently where possible to mitigate travel, waitlist, and focus on bringing state of the art equipment to North to make this a reality . It is an entirely unique situation as Prince George is far more distant from any other tertiary care facility than any other regional hospital in the province. Nowhere else is the next regional hospital a six to 10 hour drive away. We enjoy the relation we have with our generous Donors throughout this vast region.
The people of Northern B.C. have come to realize that gifts to the Foundation are making a significant difference in their quality of life. Through our donors, over the years, the Foundation has provided funds, in whole or in part, for such major pieces of equipment as a Diagnostic SPECT CT Scanner, permanent MRI, Cat Scan, ophthalmology lasers, digital radiographic suites, ultrasound units, a burn tank, a gamma camera and crash carts. It has also funded major renovations to the Jubilee Lodge and the Maternal Child Centre of Excellence and Dedicated Maternal Operating Room, a one stop Breast Health Imaging Centre, Cardiac Equipment and state of the art Orthopedic and Surgical O.R. towers at UHNBC.
Our Values
- INTEGRITY - through transparency we will uphold our foundation's reputation
- COLLABORATION - to be purposeful in our community partnerships and relationship building
- STEWARDSHIP - to fulfill the wishes and interests of our donors; inspire charitable calls to action
- LEGACY - cultivating a lasting donor impact on healthcare delivery in Northern BC, for today and tomorrow