Page 13 - GBGH Foundation Newsletter - Summer 2025

A HEART FOR HEALTHCARE:

HOW ONE RETIRED NURSE

MAKES A MONTHLY IMPACT

For more than 35 years, Kathleen Gignac dedicated her career to nursing.
First on the surgical floor and later in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU) in Orillia, Kathleen loved caring for the tiniest patients and
supporting new parents, especially mothers. It was more than a job to Roger & Kathleen Gignac,
her; it was a calling. Monthly Donors

Now retired and living just five minutes from Georgian Bay General Hospital, Kathleen hasn’t lost her passion for
care. In fact, she’s found a new way to support local families and patients by becoming a Monthly Donor to the GBGH
Foundation.

Kathleen and her husband Roger, a fellow healthcare worker turned local real estate agent, know firsthand how
essential it is to have access to quality care close to home. When Roger needed emergency support after a procedure,
the team at GBGH — including Dr. McNamara and the ICU staff — provided compassionate, expert care that left a
lasting impression.

That experience, combined with Kathleen’s deep understanding of the healthcare system, inspired her to start giving
monthly.

“I’ve seen how healthcare is evolving,” she shares. “If we don’t support our hospital with the equipment and
resources it needs, we won’t be able to keep up. It’s not just about the hospital, it’s about our whole community.”

As a nurse, Kathleen knows that critical equipment like MRI technology, surgical tools, and even patient beds aren’t
funded by the government. The hospital relies on donations. And monthly gifts, in any amount, add up to real impact.

Thanks to donors like Kathleen, GBGH can offer more timely scans, shorter wait times, and care that’s closer to home.
“You don’t have to drive to Barrie or Newmarket at 4 a.m. anymore,” she says. “That means more time with your
family, less stress, and better outcomes.”

From her love for the GBGH Gift Shop to her excitement about Giving Tuesday and the Foundation’s Impact Market,
Kathleen is a true advocate for supporting local. Her message is simple: give what you can, when you can.

“Every dollar matters. Supporting our hospital means investing in the future of care, right here in our own backyard.”

Jeff & Erin Golisky Karen Lacroix Mealing MAACON Construction Corporation Noel Macartney
Jen Russell & Family Katherine Aucoin Maria Da Luz Mitchell Norman & Anita Naumoff
Jennifer Wingrove-Jones Kathleen Stewart Marie Bonner Norman McCracken
Jerry & Sheila Pauze Ken & Brenda Hicks Mark & Bonnie Weeden Patricia Cross
Jesse Dees Ken & Cathy Edgar Mark Grundmanis & Jo Anne MacDougall Patricia Minns
Jessie Clelland Kenneth Mills Marline Veater Patrick & Helen McNamara
Jim & Sally Sinclair Kevin Tigwell & Sylvia Westcott-Tigwell Marnoch Facilities Maintenance Patrick Byrne
Joan A. Anderson Kim Sutherland Martin Kretzschmann Paul Voorheis
Joan Condie Kimberley Eichenblat Marven Hebner Perry & Linda Smith
Joan Woolever ♥ Kimberley Ellis Mary Oliver Peter & Janice Vriezema
Joel Wiens Kingside Leasing Matt Wolfer & Jenna Dafoe Peter Cardinal
Joep & Carol Diening Laird & Wanda Elliott Matthew Stone Peter Dubeau & Helen Gibson-Dubeau
John & Mary Vaillancourt Larry & Bobbi Biggs Medical Aesthetics by Vee Peter Jennings
John & Ruth Gammell Larry & Liz Marshall Michael & Helen Riggin Reta Simkin
John Bakker Lefaive Electric Inc Michael Carson Richard & Mary Ellen Hall
John Forster Lisa Thomason Michael Green Richard O’Neill
John Philips ♥ Lisa Wanamaker Midland Home Hardware Richard Thomas & Jody Marcus
Joseph Gilmour Lisolo Farms Monique Moreau Robillard Rick & Emily Queenan
Josephine Kvas-Jemec Lorraine Harker Monument Group Rob & Mary Ann McLaughlin
Joy Flook Louis Parent Murray Makin & Diane Chabot Robert & Anita Newman
Julie Caron Lynn Morton Nicholas Lougheed Robert Steenson
Karen Bowles Lynne Melnyk Nicole Pattenden Landscape Design Robyn Blanchet
PAGE 13