Revelstoke hospital helipad drive gets big lift on opening day

The drive to build a helipad at Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke lifted off on Nov. 14 with many big donations from community groups and private organizations.

At a gathering at the hospital Monday morning, about 30 community members representing a variety of community groups gathered to share their stories about why they’re behind the project.

Organizer Steven Hui of the Revelstoke District Health Foundation led the ceremony. He said the helipad will have big benefits to those in need of critical care and asked community members to consider giving. He asked those gathered to think about a scenario where someone they knew needed critical care.

“What would you not do if that person was your husband or your spouse or your coworker?” Hui asked.

Hui also noted the “incredible generosity from friends and family” of the late Ed Deloughery, who had contributed to the project in memory of Ed.

Queen Victoria Hospital site manager Julie Lowes said the helipad will benefit the hospital’s services. “A helipad shaves time off getting people where they need to be as soon as possible and that’s something we strive to,” Lowes said.

Many donors gathered to give cheques and short speeches, including Revelstoke Credit Union CEO Roberta Bobicki, who was there to donate $100,000 on behalf of the credit union.

“The [Revelstoke Credit Union’s] philosophy about profit is we give a percentage of our profits back to the community,” Bobicki said.

By the end of the day, the project had received $316,000 their $465,000 goal.

Donors that day included:

• $50,000 from the Revelstoke Hospital Auxiliary Society
• $15,000 from the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation
• $7,500 from Canadian Mountain Holidays
• $10,000 from Revelstoke Mountain Resort/Selkirk Tangiers Heliskiing
• $25,000 from the Gorman Family/Downie Timber
• $5,000 from Eagle Pass Heliskiing
• $100,000 from Revelstoke Credit Union
• $5,000 from the Regent Inn
• $5,000 from Mica Heliskiing

Interested in donating to the project?

The Revelstoke District Health Foundation is a registered charity, and donors will receive a tax receipt. Donations can be made online. To learn more about the project, and how you can donate, visit: www.revelstokehealthfoundation.com/helipad/

Donations may also be made payable to and mailed to:

Revelstoke District Health Foundation  
PO Box 2421
Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0.

You can also drop off donations at Revelstoke Credit Union.