The Kootenay Lake Hospital Foundation thanked its top supporters with a donor appreciation dinner Tuesday.
The Awards of Excellence were given to companies and clubs such as the Osprey Community Foundation and the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire “for excellence in philanthropy and commitment to ensuring the best possible health care for the people of our communities.”
The Caring Companies raised over $272,000 for the purchase of the medical equipment, according to executive director Bryna Idler.
Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.) was one of the award recipients. “We’ve been involved since day one,” said representative Ruth O’Bryan.
The KLHF is a group of volunteers whose purpose is to raise funds for priority medical equipment for Kootenay Lake Hospital.
Local doctor Phillip B. Malpass spoke at the dinner, emphasizing the need for people over 50 get tested for colon cancer. He showed guests an image of a colonoscope. “It looks quite threatening as you look at it there, imagining where it might go.”
Malpass said that while colon cancer is one of the most common, rates have been falling since the Kootenay Lake Hospital acquired a Colonoscopy Unit 15 years ago, and FIT tests, which test for blood in stool, four years ago.
