Rotary Flames Gift
In February 2005 Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar stated that, “There is a new wind blowing in Rotary and it is called continuity".
With this encouragement the Rotary Club of Calgary set out to find both Rotary and community partners and what was termed a Signature Legacy Project that met our community’s needs. The Calgary Flames Foundation was identified as the community party and the Rotary Club of Calgary South soon followed as our Rotary partner. These three partners made to a 5 year, 10 million dollar commitment to fund several health related projects that would serve the people of southern Alberta. It was anticipated that these projects would resonate with Rotarians and non-Rotarians in District 5360 (southern Alberta and western Saskatchewan) and beyond.
The Rotary Flames Gift to the Community had several components.
THE PROJECTS
- Rotary Flames House-$2.5 Million,
Rotary Flames House is a free-standing pediatric hospice and respite centre for terminally ill children. The hospice is designed to support children and their families throughout the child’s illness. The centre is located adjacent to the Alberta Children’s Hospital and will have 11 patient rooms, therapeutic activity areas and a classroom. This facility helps families manage both the grief associated with a child’s worsening condition and their spiritual journey throughout.
The Rotary Flames House opened in 2009.
- Rotary Flames Park at Ronald McDonald House-$500 Thousand
Ronald McDonald House is a compassionate, safe and affordable home away from home for out of town families whose children are receiving treatment at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Rotary Flames Park is an oasis of tress, grass and flowers and includes a tot’s playground, a team play area and many quiet garden retreats on 2 acres of land surrounding Ronald McDonald House. The house and park were opened in 2007
- Southern Alberta Urology Centre-$1.5 Million
This 40,000 square foot Centre of Excellence will be the most comprehensive urology centre in Canada and the first to offer a multidisciplinary, patient-centred approach to urological care. Healthcare professionals from a wide variety of specialities, including urologists, medical oncologists, clinical psychologists, and specialized nursing staff, will work out of the Centre. A team approach manages all aspects of patient care, streamlining diagnosis, treatment and recovery for a variety of conditions, such as prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer, kidney stones, urinary tract problems and incontinence.
Rotary Flames for Medical Advancement
The Rotary Flames Gift to the Community is committed to helping create a new vision of wellness and medical research that will enhance the well-being of everyone in the community. Gifts were made in five key areas.
- Public Health and Wellness-$1.0 Million
The Markin Institute for Public health is dedicated to applying life-changing research to our community by Creating Opportunities to Promote Resilience and Engagement (CORE. ). The CORE project is about getting schools to implement strategies that help students feel more safe, connected and valued at school. This is critical in improving a child’s well being and in making kids less likely to undertake risky behaviour
- Heart Disease-$1.0 Million
The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta is dedicated to preventing heart disease through research and education.
The Rotary Flames Centre for the Prevention and Control of Hypertension will develop a common space and resource to allow the research team to expand, interact and develop this centre of excellence to improve the prevention, treatment and control of hypertension. The funds will be used
- Neuroscience-$1.0 Million
The Hotchkiss Brain Institute is committed to advancing research in neurological and mental health and is the only institute of its kind in western Canada.
The objectives of The Rotary Flames Laboratory for Spinal Cord & Injury Repair is to regenerate broken spinal cord and nerve axon wires, plus allow for recovery from paralysis and loss of sensation.
- NeuroArm-$1.0 Million
The NeuroArm Robotic System is the world’s first image-guided surgical robot that can operate within a MRI. The system functions under the control of a surgeon from a computer work station in conjunction with real-time MRI imaging. This provides surgeons with unprecedented detail and control, enabling them to manipulate surgical tools at a microscopic scale. NeuroArm, one of the most advanced robotic systems ever developed, was designed and built in conjunction with MDA, known for creating CanadArm and CanadArm2. The first patients were operated on using NeuroArm in 2008.
- Bone And Joint Health-$1.0 Million
The Alberta Bone & Joint Health Institute has a vision to make Alberta’s bone and joint health the best in the world.
- The Rotary Flames Centre for Bone and Joint Tissue Engineering & Repair goal is to become a world leader in using artificially generated tissue from a patient’s own cells to generate ligaments, cartilage and other joint components. Ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes and reduced waiting times for those patients waiting for transplants.