Two guys with big hearts give support to Group Health Centre

NEWS RELEASE

GROUP HEALTH CENTRE TRUST FUND

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Group Health Centre Trust Fund’s hearts were full as they accepted a cheque on Friday for $15,000 from Investment Advisors Greg Zahn and Adam Slumskie of CIBC Wood Gundy | Intrinsic Financial Group.

The donation closes out the “Big Hearts for Little Hearts” campaign, launched in fall of 2016, to purchase new echocardiography equipment for the Centre.

“While there are so many worthy causes, we take special pride in supporting local charities with local funds that will directly impact children in our community,” said Greg Zahn, Investment Advisor for Intrinsic Financial Group.

At the cheque presentation, Zahn and Slumskie were able to meet Faith – a little girl whose heart defect was found by the Pediatric Echocardiography team while she was still in-utero. Today, Faith is a happy, healthy 10-year-old girl – and one of thousands of children this equipment has helped.

“Meeting Faith here today, it’s evident how important this program is – it truly does save lives,” said Slumskie. Both Greg Zahn, Adam Slumskie and their team at CIBC Wood Gundy were very proud to be able to support this local cause.

Fetal Echocardiography is the study of a baby’s heart before they’re born, and aims to find and identify abnormalities. When performed, this test can catch issues early on so that the proper care for both mom and baby can be arranged – which could save the baby’s life.

Without this program in Sault Ste. Marie, patients who needed this test would have to travel to a major city for the same service.

“This new equipment will not only allow us to continue to operate this vital program – we’ll be able to produce better quality images, in league with highly specialized centres like SickKids in Southern Ontario,” said Cheryl Aubin, Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer.

Dr. Kirk Zufelt, Pediatric Cardiologist, added, “We’re so grateful – the generosity of this community is just astounding.” The donation from Zahn and Slumskie represents 10% of the overall campaign goal.

Other funds were raised through the annual Big Wish Lottery, regular 50/50 lottery draws, and generous donations from the community. To so many who supported this campaign – thank you; your donations will literally touch the hearts of thousands of echocardiography patients each year.

About Group Health Centre Trust Fund

Group Health Centre Trust Fund was established in June 1979 as a way to raise support for Group Health Centre. The Trust Fund focuses on generating funds for the Centre’s medical equipment, health information programs and other special projects – none of which are covered by government funding.

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