2012 Modry Bursary Winner

The following was presented at our 2012 GoodHearts Foundation Dinner:

Dr. Dennis Modry was the Director of the Heart and Heart/Lung Transplantation Program from May 1986 to January of 2007.  He is currently the Clinical Associate Professor in both the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alberta and is a tireless advocate for transplantation.

People living with transplants - donors or recipients - often face unique financial and personal challenges whether going to school for the first time or retraining for another career.

This $500 bursary is intended to alleviate some of that financial burden.

Our president Jackie (R) presenting Ashley with
her bursary cheque at our 2012 Dinner

We are happy to announce Ashley Peregrym is the first ever recipient of the Dr. Dennis Modry Bursary.

Ashley is in her final year of nursing at the University of Alberta.

She was in grade 11 when her dad, Gerald received a heart transplant, and the experience had a profound affect on her.

The compassion and support her family and father received from the transplant staff impressed her greatly. Her interests turned to the medical profession and she decided to become part of this caring community of individuals.

First she became an advocate for organ transplantation because she knows how profoundly this priceless gift can affect a family.

Ashley then decided to become a registered nurse.

“Nursing is where I am meant to be” she says, “because I knows how much my dad and family appreciated the support they received from nursing staff throughout our journey.”

2012 GoodHearts Dinner - Recap

2012 GoodHearts Dinner - Visit our Facebook page
for more photographs of the evening.

We held our 2012 GoodHearts Dinner this past Saturday on October 13, 2012 at the Mayfield Inn. Thank you to all the GoodHearts members, friends and family who were able to join us for the dinner. It was a great success and we could not have done it without you.

Our president, Jackie Foord, was Master of Ceremonies for the evening and presented on a number of items. She introduced current board members present for the evening (Silvio Dobri, Maggie Baczynski, Jenn Card, and Helen Klimo), current board members unable to be there (Barb Foxall and Josh Eberhart) and past board members present (Linda Figgures, Sister Patricia and Ron Kube). As well, a moment of silence was held for Kevin Fankhanel, a board member whom we lost this year.

Jackie gave the following quick summary regarding what GoodHearts has been up to this year:

GoodHearts has been busy the past year.  We continue to supply food and gas vouchers for those in need in the various transplant programs.  We also provide Medic Alert bracelets for those who have had a transplant.  However this year we have shifted our efforts substantially to focus on providing subsidized short-term housing for people living with transplants.  Most of us in this room know that there are times when transplant patients need to be in or very close to the university hospital.  Sometimes it is for regular treatments; sometimes it’s an unpredicted complication.  For those who do not live in Edmonton, there aren’t many affordable options for longer term stays. That’s where GoodHearts comes in.

In July 2011 we rented a single condominium on the south side.  We subleased the condo to transplant recipients and their caregivers.  GoodHearts pays the full rent and in turn we charge our tenants a lower rental rate.  When the lease on the condo ended in July of this year, we began renting two apartments at the Galen Lofts. Both were occupied the first day.

See the entire presentation on
our Facebook page.

A slide show presentation entitled "GoodHearts Housing at the Galen Lofts" was shown at the dinner summarizing the GoodHearts Transplant Housing program at Galen Lofts with photos of the suites. Please visit our Facebook page to view the entire presentation or visit the Galen Lofts website for more information on the building and rental opportunities.

Other highlights included board member Maggie Baczynski presenting the first ever recipient of the Dr. Dennis Modry Bursary to Ashley Peregrym, a nursing student at the University of Alberta and board member Jenn Card reading two testimonials from patients who had stayed in the GoodHearts transplant housing.  Read more about the Dr. Dennis Modry Bursary and Ashley, the testimonial from Liz & Bob or the testimonial from Faith.

Please visit our Facebook page to view more photos of the event in the 2012 GoodHearts Dinner Photo Album.

Guest Blogger - Jeff Simpson

Thank you to Jeff Simpson for speaking at our 2012 AGM.  He has graciously provided us with a copy of his presentation from that day (which is uploaded to our Facebook page as the 2012 AGM - Insurance Presentation photo album) and offers the following thoughts:

It was a pleasure to spend the morning of Saturday, September 8th with
the GoodHearts members.  Terribly sorry that a technical problem
prohibited me from using the LCD projector.

It should be noted that each case we work with is reviewed on its own
merits.  As such I encourage members to call and relay their specific
set of conditions so that we might provide the best possible advise and
recommendations.  Travel is very important to many Canadians, if we had
year round access to warm climates in our own country that might not be
the case.

Any time there is a situation that comes up requiring special attention
I would love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Jeff Simpson
President/Benefit Consultant
Simpson Group Insurance Services Inc.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Phone (403) 281-4403
Toll Free 1-800-263-0752
Fax (403) 281-4503
www.simpson-group.com