Throughout 2025, we raised a total of
in donations this year in support of medical equipment at NRGH, Oceanside Health Center and our Long-Term facilities we serve.
Click each section below to learn more.
2025 was a transformational year for critical care with the opening of the Windsor Plywood Foundation Critical Care Building. Thanks to years of donor support, more than $2.3 million was invested in the High Acuity Unit, along with funding for the Intensive Care Unit, anesthesia equipment and Trauma and Critical Care staff training.
Donor support funded state-of-the-art medical equipment for cancer surgery and treatment at NRGH including lasers and portable imaging equipment, with funding also directed to the future BC Cancer Centre coming to the NRGH Campus in 2028.
Donor support for community and family health strengthened care across paediatrics, maternity, palliative care, the Division of Family Practice, seniors care, the Silent Guardian Program and community-based services. In 2025, donor dollars made a significant impact on maternity and neonatal care, funding new birthing beds, fetal monitors, incubators, ventilators, a NICU transport stretcher, and specialized staff training, including an investment of over $400,000 in maternal and infant care. Additional support funded teleconsultation technology for the Oceanside Health Centre and professional development for palliative care staff.
As we await the announcement of a new Catheterization Lab, the Foundation continues to invest in heart & stroke care within NRGH. This year we funded a stress test system, pacemaker chairs, a specialized cardiac ultrasound machine, and training for staff in Dysrhythmia Interpretation and Management.
In addition to funding the Self-Care Café for Island Health workers, the Foundation launched an ambitious campaign in 2025 to raise $1.2 million towards the future Parksville Treatment Centre, a new 19-bed abstinence-based treatment Centre, serving people with substance-use challenges from across the Island.
Advancing medical technology is the future for excellence in healthcare. In 2025, the Foundation led the way supporting costs towards a SPECT/CT
scanner, medical imaging, ultrasound machine, and surgical C-Arm, enhancing patient safety, precision, and outcomes
Planning for the future is an important part of what we do, and planned gifts from our generous, visionary donors help ensure better healthcare for generations to come. Planned gifts we accept include Charitable Bequests through Wills, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Charitable Gift Annuities, Gifts of Stock and more. For more information about making a planned gift to the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation, please click the link below.
As a monthly giving donor, you will help build a future of healthcare excellence over time, benefiting the ones you care for most. Together, monthly donors enable long-term, sustainable planning to support the delivery of better healthcare in our community.
Making a donation in memory of a family, friend or other loved one is a wonderful way to honour their memory, while also making a gift that will keep on giving back to the community through better healthcare. Donations are also a great way to celebrate life’s important milestones such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, retirements and more.
To make a gift of securities in kind, please download this fillable form and instruct your broker to initiate the transfer on your behalf. We sell the shares immediately upon receipt, and send you a charitable tax receipt for the fair market value at the date of transfer.
Cancer Care
Our work continues to support local cancer care in Nanaimo, including specialized pathology equipment to examine tissue biopsies for suspected cases of cancer. We’re also helping to move forward the project around a regional cancer center, keeping patients closer to their support networks. This essential area of care is long overdue, and has affected so many families on the island.
Community and Family Health
This area gives focus to children’s health, family doctor recruitment support with the Division of Family Practice, occupational health, palliative care, senior’s care, and education as well as other support for our nurses. We have already had excellent success in this area, with the recruitment of new doctors, and more on the way. Several key partnerships are already in place, and we continue to pursue additional alliances to expand our circle of impact.
Critical Care
Critical Care includes all acute care – emergency, ICU and HAU, and surgery. In June 2023, the new ICU opened with all the required critical equipment funded by
community donors and has been operating at full capacity since then. We are excited to share that the HAU is on track for expected completion by summer 2025, ensuring that our community has access to the highest standard of care.
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our community, and a transformational gift from the Windsor Plywood Foundation, we have almost achieved our fundraising goal.
Heart and Stroke Care
This area of care includes a new cath lab and equipment, as well as several recent equipment purchases such as echocardiology machine & TEE probe, cardiac ultrasound, a cardiac stress test system, two wireless ECG machines, an echo stretcher, power chairs for our pacemaker clinic, and a Holter scanning system. Costs were also covered for additional staff training on advanced cardiac life support, and heart dysrhythmia.
Innovation
It is only through innovation that we can ensure we maintain the highest standards of care for our community. “We have always done it that way” is not an acceptable answer for our team. We know that to be a driving force in improving healthcare in Central and North Vancouver Island, we must constantly seek new and innovative ways to pursue our vision.
We continue to press for innovation in the areas of advocacy, laboratory services, medical imaging, medical professional education, and pharmacy, among others.
And once again, mutually beneficial partnerships grounded in the desire to improve healthcare outcomes are key to the Foundation having an impact well beyond our traditional resources.
Mental Health
We continue to seek out ways to improve and expand medical detox, VI scan (Vancouver Island Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect program), and youth wellness outreach. These essential areas are interwoven with other areas of care, and we seek ways to innovate and create greater impact.
