It's About Time — Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation

Help us bring 90% of cardiac procedures home to the North.

Northern BC is finally getting the cardiac care it deserves. The Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation is seeking support to raise

This Regional Centre will be housed in Prince George's new $1.66 billion Acute Care Tower, the single biggest healthcare infrastructure investment our region has ever seen. With your support, we can close the healthcare equity gap and bring better care home.

Northern BC faces three significant barriers when it comes to cardiac care, challenges unique to our geography and communities. Any one of these would make providing adequate care difficult, but the compounding effect makes this a critical issue that demands action.

In 2024, Northerners waited a collective 10 years for cardiac care.

Without access to specialized cardiac procedures locally, our residents wait months, sometimes over a year, for life-saving treatment. Emergency patients can spend days in stabilization before being transferred to Vancouver, Victoria, or Kelowna.

Non-urgent cases? Up to 8 months. That's 243 days of hoping the situation doesn't turn into an emergency.

Northern Health serves an area the size of France.

Travelling to Vancouver or Kelowna for cardiac care can be an intimidating, expensive prospect. Whether flying or navigating potentially treacherous roads, the journey is just the beginning.

Northerners face extraordinary costs: flights or fuel, accommodation, meals, time off work, childcare back home. For many families, being with their loved ones during treatment is simply not an option. And many patients are too frail to make the journey in the first place.

26 communities. 55 First Nations. Higher risk of cardiac disease than anywhere else in BC.

Northern BC is home to nearly 25% of the province's Indigenous communities, who are 75% more likely to suffer from heart failure. Our senior population is expected to grow 142% by 2040: faster than anywhere else in the province.

These communities face cultural, logistical, and geographical barriers that make care nearly impossible to deliver when treatment is 800km away.

We are seeking support to provide a state-of-the-art cardiac centre, equipped with state-of-the-art technology that will enable Northern Health to deliver world-class care locally.

Dramatic reduction in emergency patient transfers from further afield
Non-urgent procedure wait times cut to under 42 days
Improved recovery rates and proactive care that keeps residents ahead of issues before they escalate
An estimated 2,000 hospital bed-days freed up in other regions
90% of specialized cardiac procedures home brought home to Northern BC
Families kept together during the moments that matter most

As a Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist, Dr. Ahmed Merghani has seen time and again how the challenges of travel is impacting the heart health of our residents.

On the face of things, it seems illogical that people would turn down potentially life-saving care because of a long car ride. But it’s not as simple as that.

Many patients are too frail to travel in the first place. But if they aren’t, then taking the time off work, or time away from their families to travel the hundreds of kms to receive care is just not a possibility… and that’s before you factor in the cost of a trip is another barrier yet again.

It’s desperate seeing these situations when we know that this care could be provided locally. It’s hard to overstate how different things would be for these patients if they had access to a regional cardiac centre in Prince George.

Aimee Cassie

CEO, Spirit of the North
“With your generosity and support we can seize our moment to close the gap on health care equity between the rest of British Columbia and us, reshaping the future of care in Northern BC for generations to come.”
Shirley Bond

Former MLA, Cabinet Minister
“Our family, like so many others, knows what it means to wait, to have to leave home and loved ones to receive critical cardiac services. “It’s about time” we had enhanced cardiac care here in Northern BC and together, we can make that a reality.”
Cathy Ulrich

Former CEO, Northern Health
“Northern BC has been my home for almost 40 years. Bringing critical services to the north has been a focus over my health care career. It’s a real privilege to support Spirit of the North and Northern Health to bring state-of-the-art services to Northern BC.”
Darcy Bryant

President, Bryant Electric
"As a two-time Cardiac patient, I have personally felt the frustration and pain that comes from the lack of Cardiac care other British Columbians enjoy. This campaign will not only save lives, but it will also give back valuable time for all Northern British Columbians"
Selen Alpay

Store Assoc Dealer - Canadian Tire
"By working together we can ensure that the world class, enhanced cardiac care we need and deserve is available to support residents of Prince George and Northern BC."
Lance MacDonald

Former GM - Northern BC TELUS
"Time is life's greatest commodity, and is a critical resource in health care for both patients and providers. Investing in earlier access is how we can give time back to Northern BC's patients and their families"
Kevin Petterson

Advisor - Export Navigator
"In the North, we've continued to achieve what others consider impossible. We know our dreams can come true with hard work, perseverance and incredible teams of passionate people."
Todd Corrigall

Senior Vice President - Central Strategies
"If we are truly to be considered one of the best places on earth, this new tower, and the cardiac care program housed within it, will become a true legacy - not just in Northern British Columbia, but throughout the Province and Western Canada. We can be leaders in the care that so many deserve."
Don Gowan

Former CEO & Board Member - Spirit of the North
"I've had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the profound impact that fundraising dollars make in enhancing our healthcare system."