- Posted on November 13, 2024
St. Mary’s honours National Philanthropy Day with online release of original documentary
News Release
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. | Nov. 13, 2024
An original documentary that tells the 100-year-old story of St. Mary’s General Hospital while highlighting innovation, patient-centred care and the future of healthcare in Waterloo Region will be available for all to view online this Friday.
The online release of “Heart of Care” falls on National Philanthropy Day (Nov. 15) – a nod to the generosity of donors who have invested in local healthcare for a century, and those who continue to improve care for the future.
- Watch “Heart of Care” on St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation’s YouTube channel, or at smgh100.ca starting 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
Way was St. Mary’s first lung cancer patient under the innovative ERAS (enhanced recovery after surgery) protocol. She underwent specific pre-conditioning before having surgery to remove part of her right lung. Within 30 minutes of her operation, she was up walking around the recovery room with her care partner.
“Instead of accepting what we’ve always done in the past, we have to think differently, and we’ve done that through ERAS,” says Dr. Paul Chaisson, Way’s thoracic surgeon.
St. Mary’s was one of the first hospitals in Canada to implement ERAS for thoracic patients in 2016. Since the shift, patients have been recovering quicker, and lengths of stay have been cut into a quarter of what they were with traditional surgery methods. The protocol is now more common, with ERAS techniques used in multiple surgical specialties.
“Heart of Care” debuted at Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum last month as part of “Beyond the Bricks: 100 Years of Compassionate Care at St. Mary’s General Hospital,” a specially curated museum exhibit marking St. Mary’s centennial. The documentary continues to air at the exhibit until April 2025.
“Heart of Care” Quick Facts
- Filming by local video production company Digital Sabbath started in 2023.
- Footage was gathered from roughly 15 interview subjects across three different locations, including a patient who lives as far away as Lion’s Head, Ont.
- The 23-minute-long film features current and former staff members, including physicians, nurses and porters, and a handful of patients.
Through authentic community voices, “Heart of Care” portrays the over-arching themes of compassion, empathy, innovation and expertise that have defined St. Mary’s for a century.
“It’s all about the ‘St. Mary’s Way,’ an ethos that was instilled into the very foundation of this hospital by the Sisters of St. Joseph,” says Susan Dusick, President and CEO of St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation, and one of the voices featured in the film. “When the Sisters founded St. Mary’s in 1924, they selflessly gave for the good of the community.”
The Sisters supplied $350,000 to build the hospital in 1923 while the Kitchener-Waterloo community rallied to raise an additional $150,000. A century later, donor investment continues to play a pivotal role in local healthcare, funding 100 per cent of the cost of new and replacement hospital equipment.
“Releasing this beautiful documentary on National Philanthropy Day is so fitting because it’s a chance to reflect on what our community has built together, and a reminder of what we can accomplish in the future,” Dusick says. “While we build our new joint hospital, the St. Mary’s site will continue to care for our community for the next decade. That means donor generosity remains imperative to ensuring our hospital is equipped to handle a growing population.”
Want to join us for the online premiere of "Heart of Care" on November 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET? Sign in to YouTube and select "Notify me" for a reminder.
St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation
Media contacts:
Alyssa Lai
Director, Communications and Marketing
alai@supportstmarys.ca
519-489-0751
Melissa Couto
Writer and Content Specialist
mcouto@supportstmarys.ca
226-338-3763
About St. Mary's General Hospital Foundation
St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated solely to generating financial support for the life-saving care provided by St. Mary’s General Hospital. Funds donated by the community through St. Mary's General Hospital Foundation go toward vital equipment, construction and resource requirements for St. Mary’s General Hospital which are not covered by or exceed funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health.
For more information, visit supportstmarys.ca
About St. Mary's General Hospital
Located in the heart of Kitchener, St. Mary’s is home to the Regional Cardiac Centre, Regional Chest Program and Regional Eye Program. As leaders in our field recognized globally for world-class, innovative healthcare, our vision of “Inspiring Excellence. Healthier Together” is not just about our approach to patient-centred care, it’s also about our commitment to our staff.
Celebrating a century of care this year, St. Mary’s provides compassionate care to our community serving over 1.4 residents locally and beyond each year. We are the second-largest acute care hospital in the St. Joseph’s Health System with a team of over 2,000 staff, physicians and volunteers dedicated to ensuring patients receive the highest-quality care possible.
Learn more about Our Mission, Values & History and the future of care at St. Mary's.
