Children are not typically cardiac patients. And yet, unfortunately, about one in every hundred babies is born with a congenital heart defect — meaning that their tiny hearts or nearby blood vessels do not develop normally. In fact, congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect. The good news is that with the right technology and treatments, today, 9 in 10 children with congenital heart disease survive to adulthood.

Last year, the pediatric cardiology outpatient clinic at Regina General Hospital saw more than 400 children for cardiac related care. This is double the number of kids seen the year before and is due to a restructuring of pediatric care in Saskatchewan. This is great news for children in southern Saskatchewan, since it allows them to be treated close to home.

However, it also means that the pediatric cardiology outpatient clinic is no longer able to borrow an echocardiography machine from the adult clinic. They need a dedicated one of their own. An echocardiography machine is a type of specialized cardiac ultrasound that uses sound waves to create moving pictures of the child’s heart to determine how well the heart is functioning.

The Kinsmen Foundation responded to this priority need and made a generous $75,000 gift to match community donations and help invest in this crucial technology.

“We were extremely happy to support this request.” says Ted Moir, Chair of the Kinsmen Foundation Board of Directors. “Our mandate is ‘helping people every day’, and we know this vital equipment will help so many kids get the treatment they need, right here at home”.

The Kinsmen Foundation has helped many people across Saskatchewan, and has been a generous supporter of Regina’s hospitals. They have donated over $2 million to Hospitals of Regina Foundation in support of pediatrics, the 2017 Trauma Care Campaign, the Wolfe Stroke Centre and the Kinsmen Foundation Electrophysiology (EP) Lab at the Mosaic Heart Centre.

“The Foundation greatly appreciates the Kinsmen Foundation’s continued support in improving healthcare in Regina’s hospitals,” says Lisa Green, vice president, development, Hospitals of Regina Foundation. “Their most recent gift will help us raise the funds we need to invest in the new echocardiography machine our health care teams need to deliver the best care possible to children in southern Saskatchewan.”