St. Mary's is back with its Wish Book once more. A thoughtful catalogue dropped at your door.
Browse through and see your community's needs. And how you can help with a very good deed.
Supporting St. Mary's helps all of us grow. For more get-togethers, more fun in the snow.
Your gift impacts patients the whole year through. So they can keep old traditions, and start ones anew.
How St. Mary's saved a family's holiday traditions
“Spending Christmas Eve in a hospital was the furthest thing from our minds when the day started...in an instant, our plans changed.”
The gift of evolving cardiac care: $22 million
A hefty price tag, but a gift our community deserves.
Waterloo Region is on the precipice of a significant population boom. How do we ensure our cardiac program will evolve to meet an increased need for minimally invasive cardiac care?
We invest in a third cardiac catheterization lab at St. Mary’s and upgrade equipment in our existing two labs.
So much goes into creating a fully functioning catheterization lab – from tiny stents to mammoth X-ray systems – and our community needs all of it.
What's on our list?
Imaging Systems
- C-arm/X-ray
- Monitors
- Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)
- Radiation shields
- X-ray table
- Image archiving system
Hemodynamic monitoring equipment
- Electrocardiography (ECG)
- Physiological monitoring
- Fractional flow reserve (FFR)
And so much more
- Interventional equipment like stents and balloon pumps
- Sterilization and safety
- Electrophysiology equipment
- Emergency equipment like defibrillators
- Ancillary tools and devices
- Communication and IT systems
- Environmental controls
Why does it matter?
St. Mary’s cardiac catheterization labs provides care to 1.4 million residents across Waterloo Region and beyond – that’s 10 per cent of Ontario’s population.
Read more about the vital work of St. Mary’s cath lab team.
From our traditions to yours
What makes holiday traditions so special? They’re rituals that bind us to our past, allow us to enjoy our present, and give us something to look forward to.
We all have unique traditions that mean the world to us.
Here’s how staff at St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation celebrate the holidays:
Every year since my youngest was about 2 years old, we’ve enjoyed a night of decorating gingerbread houses together as a family. What started as an innocent little tradition soon transformed into a full-fledged competition between the two girls. They still reminisce on some of Madison’s most beautiful productions over the years – and they still get a chuckle thinking about some of Taylor’s more disastrous attempts.
- Susan Dusick
My father used to make my sister and I a backyard rink. It wasn't very big, but it was a highlight of our winter holidays. We couldn't wait to zip up our one-piece snow suit, buckle on our helmets and call our best friends to join us on our rink. My feet always froze, but we would stay out there for hours.
- Kourtney Parker
Every year since I was a child, my family has come together to unwrap a special gift on Christmas Eve — matching pajamas for everyone!
- Madeline Holcomb
Our family, especially my dad and I, watch the World Juniors every year. Our holiday revolves around the game schedule, including waking up at 4 a.m. when Russia hosted the tournament. I grew up as a Guelph Storm fan and I’ve watched the World Juniors with my dad since I was a small child.
- Caitlin Hutchison
Malls in Malaysia always go all out to mark the holidays – in this case, Lunar New Year. Back when I lived in Malaysia, my family and I would go window-shopping during the holidays and take in the beautiful décor.
- Alyssa Lai
It’s a new tradition for us – getting our two-year-old son, Sam, a special ornament each year that depicts something he’s into (a home-made dinosaur for his first Christmas, Bluey last year and likely Spider-Man this year)! We give it to him when we set up our tree and let him place it on a branch before any other ornament goes on.
- Melissa Couto
Since my son James’s first Christmas four years ago, my wife and I have either taken pictures of him with Santa Claus or gotten professional holiday photos done. These are great little mementos that mark how much he’s grown year after year. We’ll cherish them forever.
- John Pollard
Every Christmas Eve, my loved ones and I take a walk around the neighbourhood to see the Christmas lights on different houses. Then, we curl up on the couch and watch The Polar Express together. It really puts us in a cozy mood and we love sharing those moments together.
- Meghan LeSouder
My family doesn’t really have one thing we do every year over the holidays – it's more an amalgamation of things that changes as we grow. But the constant theme has always been spending time with loved ones. Just being with people you care about and making memories in new ways is my favourite tradition.
- Brendan Cook
One of our favourite traditions is to get together with our extended family on Christmas Eve -- tons of food, Santa visits, and we attend midnight mass. This tradition started when I was a little girl. My Italian side of the family would host a very large and elaborate 'drop-in' party on Christmas Eve.
- Jaime Wilson
You never know whose traditions you could be saving.
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