The Moose Jaw Health Foundation has announced the 18th annual 800CHAB Family First Radiothon. 

This year’s event will take place on May 2nd and 3rd at the Town N Country Mall in Moose Jaw, with a goal of raising $140,000 for the Dr. F. H. Wigmore Regional Hospital. 

The 36-hour annual radiothon will run from 6 a.m. on Thursday, May 2nd, until Friday, May 3rd, at 6 p.m. with funds being raised for specialized equipment for cardiac care.  

Kelly McElree, executive director of the Moose Jaw Health Foundation, explained why cardiac equipment is this year’s focus. “Every year at our hospital, there’s over 2900 cardiac incidents. That’s one every three hours at the hospital that they’re dealing with.” 

Equipment they’re looking to fund with this year’s radiothon includes: 

  • A LUCAS Automated CPR Machine ($16,000) – used for automated chest compressions, this is a piece of equipment our hospital has not had before 
  • An EGC Mac 5500 ($22,000) – used to record a heart’s electrical activity to ascertain issues such as heart attacks/disease or arrythmias 
  • A Holter Monitor ($14,000) – used to record a heart’s rhythms during a patient’s day to help with diagnosis 
  • Four Medication Carts ($50,000) - used for storing and swiftly accessing medications  
  • Six Patient Stretchers ($30,000) - used to quickly and comfortably transport patients 

“In heart stopping moments of a cardiac emergency, immediate access to specialized cardiac care equipment is so vitally important. Every second counts,” added McElree. 

The Moose Jaw Health Foundation is also looking for volunteers for this year’s radiothon, including people who can answer telephones.  

If you’re an organization, team, or business looking to volunteer, Ken Hawkes, volunteer coordinator with the Moose Jaw Health Foundation, encourages you to reach out to them by calling him at 306-694-5587. “In most cases, one hour is all we ask of a person that’s volunteering for us.” 

The 800CHAB Family First Radiothon has raised over $5.4 million for the Moose Jaw Health Foundation since its inception.