The Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation had a monumental 2023 according to its annual general meeting yesterday. 

Leaving aside the Elmgren estate donation of over $4 million, the DNIF has managed to accrue over $950,000 in revenue this year. That amount by itself is impressive, for any organization. When combined, you see that they had a total revenue of over $5.17 million., a number that has already been hard at work improving healthcare in southwest Sask.

Executive Director for the DNIF, Chris Martens, is enormously grateful for the generosity that has enabled them to purchase $890,750 of medical equipment in 2023 for Swift Current and surrounding communities.

"That's a significant amount of money that we put forth to ensuring that we could get various pieces of medical equipment in Swift Current and the surrounding area," said Martens. "We don't always get pieces of medical equipment the second we order them. Sometimes, they take a year, two years or even three years to arrive. So in some cases where you may see $900,000 move out the door from purchased equipment, those are from fundraising efforts from the past two to four years."

In total, the DNIF had an operational funding revenue profit of $216,798.

The money from the Elmgren estate is part of restricted funds, of which the details of how it may be used can be viewed in this article. Of the 2023 restricted funds account, $3.22 million remains to be used.

"Rodney and Dorothy Elmgren really made such a humongous difference for us," said Martens. "It turned what was a good year into an unbelievable year."

It was also revealed at the AGM that former CEO of the now defunct Cypress Health Region, Beth Vachon, who worked in the health care industry for 40 years, was nominated and welcomed to join the board of directors for the DNIF.

Ashley Peterson, secretary for the board of directors, was excited to have Vachon and her experience furthering their wide array of skilled individuals.

"She came very highly recommended, of course," said Peterson. "So given her extensive background in health care, we felt that she would be a great fit."