Time to Bring it Home | KGH Foundation

IT’S TIME TO BRING IT HOME

headshot of Allison Ramchuck “While one hopes that they, or those they love, will remain healthy forever, there will come a time when it ‘hits home’ for all of us.” – Allie Young

At some point, we just stopped talking about what was ‘wrong’.

It was in the early stages of the pandemic. I guess you could say it was like an epiphany that we all had at the same time. Health care has to change. Not superficially. But fundamentally.

The conversation shifted to ‘What would it look like if it was right?’

That’s how it all began. Asking questions. Listening. The more questions we asked, the more enthusiastic they became – the doctors, nurses, health care workers, administrators, clinicians and community care providers in the throes of the biggest health care crisis of our time – and they started to dream… big.

While we thought about what a new era of health care would look like for the people who call the Central Okanagan home, we hoped that our community hadn’t become jaded or cynical. The news stories left little room for hope or the belief that ‘we’ (the users of the health system) could do anything about the current state of health care in our country.

While one hopes that they, or those they love, will remain healthy and well forever, there will come a time when it ‘hits home’ for all of us. Losing hope in our health care system is not an option.

The pandemic highlighted the shortcomings of the current system with gut-wrenching clarity. At the same time, it also really proved how capable and agile we could be when it came to adapting and implementing change where it matters most… right here, where we live.

The pandemic also proved that no matter how desperate a situation might become, generosity will still (and I think always) prevail in this community. You walked through the uncertainty and extreme discomfort right alongside us, and only asked one thing… ‘how can I help?’

There is hope. It’s closer to home than you think. In this edition of Foundations, you will read about our most ambitious campaign in history, how we got here, and the people on the front lines of health care who have dared to dream. Together, we have formed a plan to address some of the fundamental changes that need to happen to improve health care, right here where we live.

And now, we have reason to believe that we can make a difference. We are taking action, informed by the people who know what we need most – the people working in health care in our community, patients, families, and you.