Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Fairview Health Complex Foundation

The Fairview Health Complex Foundation is a charitable, community-driven organization dedicated to strengthening health services in Fairview, Alberta and the surrounding district. Created in the early 1990s in response to numerous equipment and project requests from hospital departments, the foundation now distributes in excess of $60,000 each year to priority health initiatives. Its funding supports both capital projects and programmatic needs that directly benefit patients, families, and healthcare workers in this rural region.

Over the years, the foundation has contributed to a wide range of hospital and healthcare projects, including digital x-ray capabilities, a special care area and courtyards for long-term care, heart monitoring equipment, start-up costs and diagnostic scopes for the operating room, and a modern ultrasound machine. It has also helped fund a chaplaincy program, equipment for regional paramedic training, palliative care beds, and a contribution toward an MRI machine serving the area.

Beyond equipment, the foundation invests in people through multiple scholarships, bursaries and an educational grant. Dedicated programs such as the Doreen Makarenko Memorial Scholarship, the Foundation Scholarship, the Vi Landry Bursary, the Alice Caspar Bursary, the Doug and Jean Snider Educational Grant and the Pauline A. Landry Bursary provide direct financial support to students and, in some cases, healthcare staff pursuing further education. These funds help attract, retain and upskill health professionals and support youth from the Fairview region entering health-related fields.

The foundation also undertakes major fundraising campaigns for large-scale health infrastructure. A prominent example is the CT Scanner Campaign, launched to bring a CT scanner to the Fairview Health Complex. For this project, the foundation has committed $1 million and is running a matching program under which all individual donations up to $1 million are matched dollar for dollar. Funds are raised across donor categories, including individuals, municipalities, corporate partners, community groups and small businesses, with formal recognition levels such as Platinum, Diamond, Silver, Legacy, Friends, Community Groups and Participant.

The organization is governed by a volunteer board made up of local community members with deep ties to Fairview and neighbouring communities. Board profiles highlight long-standing service and experience in community leadership, education and business. The foundation maintains visibility in the hospital through a Tree of Life Memorial and recognition boards that honour donors at various contribution levels, and it regularly shares news features spotlighting contributors, scholarship recipients and campaign progress.

Through this combination of capital funding, program support and educational awards, the Fairview Health Complex Foundation plays a central role in sustaining and improving rural healthcare access and quality in northwest Alberta.