THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation is 87.5 per cent of the way to its $20-million goal to bring cardiac surgery to the regional hospital.
The return of the Save a Heart Raffle is one way the foundation is attempting to get the cardiovascular campaign over the finish line, allowing hospital officials to start construction as early as late 2024, the goal to conduct the first open-heart surgery in Thunder Bay in late 2026 or early 2027.
The grand prize, a Polaris RZR900 Trail Premium side-by-side, is a pretty enticing incentive, said Adam Vinet, the hospital’s vice-president of patient experience.
“This is a very important draw and it really builds the opportunity in our community to contribute and meet a need for cardiac surgery, which is something we’re missing in Northwestern Ontario,” Vinet said.
Currently, patients who need cardiac surgery are forced to travel out of town, away from family, friends and other supports, often recovering alone in southern Ontario, or at great expense to loved ones.
Jeff Witiluk, the dealer principal at J&J Sports, said his family knows all too well the stress that can cause. His father, Jack, had to have open-heart surgery and it was rough on he and his brother, and especially on their mother.
“I think this is very important for our community. We’re a big enough community now that we should have these types of services here, so this is hopefully another step closer to getting that for our community,” Witiluk said.
Whomever wins the top prize, valued at $27,566, is going to be happy, he added.
“The side-by-side Razor, they’re a ton of fun,” Witiluk said. “If you want to go riding with the kids, you can take (your spouse) for a cruise. You can go hunting with them. You can use them for leisure and there’s a utility side to them as well. They’re just a great thing to have, especially if you have a camp or can go cruising outside, like a lot of people can in Northern Ontario.”
Tickets for the April 1 draw are $20 apiece, three for $50 or 10 for $100 and they’re available at J&J Sports on Tungsten Street, and Thunder Bay Mitsubishi and Balmoral Park Acura, both located on Copper Crescent.
