KICKSTART YOUR HEART!

We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Kickstart Your Heart campaign raised $113,097 for MRI & an MRI Cardiac Coil! Thank you so much to everyone who participated to help bring this new imaging technology to GBGH!

Each February, the GBGH Foundation partners with BOUNCE 104.1 and Pure Country 106 for Kickstart Your Heart, a campaign to raise funds for cardiac care equipment for Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH).

The campaign was first inspired by local philanthropists Conrad & Donna Huber in 2021, whose love for each other and their community brought the idea to life. Read their story here.

“We enjoy being together and doing things together,” share the Hubers. “We have been so fortunate in life and it makes us both happy to be able to give back to our community. It is our gift to each other.”

In 2024, the Hubers are offering to match donations once again (up to a total of $25,000). Thank you Conrad & Donna for your amazing and generous support!

SELFIE CONTEST: Look for the red Kickstart Your Heart balloons in each of our partner businesses, and take a selfie with them for your chance to win an amazing prize pack valued at more than $450! Submit your photo by clicking the button above (starts February 1st).

About this year's campaign

This year’s Kickstart Your Heart Campaign will run from February 1st to February 14th, with a goal of raising $75,000 to bring Cardiac MRI Imaging to GBGH. This service will be available when the MRI machine is installed in early 2025.

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to produce detailed pictures of the structures within and around the heart. Doctors use cardiac MRI to detect or monitor cardiac disease. They also use it to evaluate the heart’s anatomy and function in patients with both heart disease present at birth and heart diseases that develop after birth. Cardiac MRI does not use radiation, and it may provide the best images of the heart for certain conditions.

There is currently a long wait for this specialized imaging because there are no hospitals between Barrie & Sudbury with this technology. Because the radiologists trained in this specialized imaging also work at GBGH, we have a great opportunity to increase capacity for these scans to help reduce wait times.

The equipment that will be purchased is a specialized MRI coil that directs the scan to the heart, allowing for the best possible imaging of the entire heart system.