2024 Donor Impact Report
RISE
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This is what it takes.
Chair, Board of Directors, RVH Foundation
Chief Executive Officer, RVH Foundation
Dear Friends and Supporters,
To rise is to move forward—even when it’s hard.
We see it every day. In patients building back to health. In those living through illness with quiet strength. In care teams who never stop showing up. And in a community that believes care can and should be better.
Our region is growing. So are the pressures on our healthcare system. RVH is rising to meet them—not just with more space, but with a bold reimagining of how advanced care is delivered.
RISE tells the stories of what endures between the moments of crisis and celebration. It’s not just about breakthroughs. It’s about the resolve it takes to get there.
None of it happens without the generosity of people like you—people who believe in better care and back it with action.
To everyone who gave, reached out, or stood beside RVH, thank you. You’ve helped move care forward for the people and places we love.
Stay healthy. Stay wild.
We’re calling on all of Simcoe Muskoka to protect our unique way of life.
Rooted in compassion. Built for change.
It’s one of the most important conversations in healthcare—and one of the most misunderstood.
A goals-of-care conversation is when patients, their families, and their healthcare team talk openly about what matters most. It’s a way to align medical decisions with a person’s values, priorities and hopes for the future.
Many assume that these conversations are about the final chapter of a person’s life. But they’re not. They’re about every chapter. About understanding what matters most—not just when treatments stop working, but when they begin.
They’re about listening. To fears. To hopes. To what people want their life to look like during and after illness.
These conversations aren’t just medical. They’re deeply human. When done well, they build trust, reduce uncertainty, and ensure care plans reflect the whole person—not just the disease.
But they’re not easy to navigate. Doctors are trained to fix problems, cure disease, and buy time. Often, the instinct is to do more: more procedures, more medication, more interventions. But more isn’t always what the patient wants. And sometimes, it’s not what they need.
They also take time—something often in short supply. Doctors typically carry the full weight of these discussions, each one lasting 15 minutes or more. Across Canada, that adds up to hundreds of thousands of hours every year.
“Right now, doctors are the only ones having these conversations, and they’re expected to have them every time a major decision needs to be made,” says Dr. Giulio Didiodato, RVH’s Chief Research Scientist and Intensivist. “But with so many patients and so little time, it’s hard to give these deeply personal discussions the space and care they deserve.”
Here in Simcoe Muskoka, the need is especially urgent. We have one of the oldest populations in Ontario, and higher-than-average rates of chronic illness. In the next twenty years, one in three of us will be seniors—using hospital services four times more than our younger counterparts.
For our region, regular, compassionate goals-of-care conversations aren’t optional. They’re essential. The impact of having these conversations is already clear. In programs like RVH’s Regional Kidney Care Program, early discussions are changing how patients experience their care.
“When a patient in our program is moving from acute to chronic management, we must have a goals-of-care conversation within 30 days,” says Kathy Looby, Clinical Hemodialysis Manager at RVH. “We talk about what they want: comfort measures only, medication, dialysis interventions. Those conversations help guide the patient care—not just for today, but throughout their entire treatment. And it’s never a one-time thing. It’s ongoing, because their needs and wishes can change.”
Dr. Giulio Didiodato, Dr. Chris Martin, and Dr. Doug Austgarden together created ASKmeGOC—a tool guiding some of the most important conversations in a patient’s journey.
These conversations aren’t just good practice they ease anxiety, guide better decisions, and help care teams stay focused on what matters most. They also save time, reducing the scramble that often happens when values and wishes are unclear.
Seeing the difference these conversations can make, Dr. Didiodato, Dr. Chris Martin, and Dr. Doug Austgarden, alongside a team of researchers, set out to make them easier to start—and impossible to overlook. But to bring their idea to life, they needed help.
Enter Alectra. Known for taking on tough social issues like food insecurity, homelessness, and addiction, Alectra stepped forward to fund Dr. Didiodato’s research project through the creation of the Alectra Fund for Healthcare & Social Innovation. Thanks to their support, RVH researchers had what they needed to move from idea to action.
They created ASKmeGOC—a web app that helps standardize goals-of-care conversations and makes it easier for them to happen consistently, compassionately, and early. With this tool, nurses, physician assistants, and allied health professionals can lead conversations that are rooted in the patient’s wishes and values—not just clinical decisions.
To prove it worked, the team conducted a large, randomized clinical trial—the gold standard of medical research. The study was completed with 1,906 patients enrolled—making it the largest clinical trial ever conducted at a community hospital.
The results of their trial had such wide-ranging implications that Dr. Didiodato and his team turned their sights toward the Health Care Unburdened Grant Program, established by the Canadian Medical Association, MD Financial Management Inc., and Scotiabank. This highly competitive program awards funding to projects that help ease the administrative burden facing Canadian doctors.
More than 230 organizations applied to receive a grant and only 11 were successful. Of those, only two hospitals were on the list: one academic health sciences centre—and RVH.
In the fall of 2024, Dr. Didiodato’s team was awarded close to $700,000 to spread and scale ASKmeGOC across Canada.
“Building on these initial successes, the Health Care Unburdened Grant now paves the way for us to share this homegrown innovation with our healthcare peers across the province,” says Dr. Jesse McLean, RVH’s Director of Research and co-author on the grant. “We will also be working with several community partners to help spread the tool, including teams at Georgian College’s School of Computer Studies and Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre, as well as Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team, and the University of Toronto’s Family Medicine Teaching Unit located at RVH.”
The success of ASKmeGOC is proof that community hospitals like RVH aren’t just following the system—they’re helping fix it. By building simple, scalable tools that work in the real world, RVH is driving innovation that can strengthen healthcare across the country.
“With the help of ASKmeGOC, nurses, physician assistants, and allied health professionals can now start and guide goals-of-care conversations safely and confidently,” adds Dr. Didiodato. “It’s a simple change, but it frees up hundreds of thousands of hours for physicians every year and helps make these important conversations part of everyday care.”
And donor support is the quiet force moving this work forward. Alectra’s investment wasn’t just in a project—it was in a better future for healthcare. Their vision helped power an innovation that will ease pressure on care teams, bring more dignity to patient care, and strengthen the health system for everyone.
A conversation they didn’t know they needed.
In the whirlwind of cancer treatments and difficult decisions, Cathy Casey and her husband Bert hadn’t talked about what he truly wanted at the end of his life. It wasn’t until an RVH social worker gently asked the question that they began a conversation that brought peace, clarity—and dignity.
Bert had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. His original prognosis was short—just three months. But thanks to expert, personalized care at RVH’s Hudson Regional Cancer Centre, three months grew to two years.
Bert’s care plan was complex: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, medications, and countless appointments. RVH became a second home. And like any good home, Cathy remembers a feeling of calm, peace, and compassion.
“Those doors are scary to walk through,” she said. “But the people who work there are so kind, caring, and thoughtful. They understand what you’re facing—and they all lead with love.”
Cathy was Bert’s primary caregiver, tracking every detail in binders—appointments, symptoms, medications—doing everything she could to support him. But after nearly a year, she found herself overwhelmed. She reached out to their RVH social worker for support.
“She listened in a way that made me feel seen,” said Cathy. “Then she gently asked, ‘Have you considered what Bert wants before he dies?’ That question blew me away.”
That night, Cathy and Bert sat down for a conversation they didn’t know they needed. He shared that he wanted to be at home, surrounded by their three children, and free from pain. It’s this kind of discussion that RVH’s new donor-funded app, ASKmeGOC is designed to support, helping patients, families and care teams talk openly about what matters most.
When Bert entered palliative care, his wishes were honoured. He passed away on a Saturday at home, with his family at his side. “Bert was respected throughout his care at RVH,” Cathy said. “And when it came to the end, that respect continued. His wishes were honoured because of that one question. I‘m profoundly grateful.”
“She listened in a way that made me feel seen. Then she gently asked, ‘Have you considered what Bert wants before he dies?’ That question blew me away.”
Cathy Casey
Building the pipeline: how donors helped build RVH’s Pharmacy Residency.
Across Canada, there’s a shortage of hospital trained pharmacists. At RVH, we saw that as a call to act. And thanks to donors, we had the means to answer it.
In 2023, Sarah Deif, RVH’s Director of Pharmacy, and her team identified a growing challenge: our patients needed more hospital-trained pharmacists—professionals who understand the complexity of care today, and where it’s headed tomorrow.
In Ontario, only 46 hospital residency positions exist. Hundreds of pharmacy graduates apply each year—many from outside the province and country. The odds are steep—and for our region, the stakes are high.
To become hospital residency-trained, pharmacists must complete a one-year residency focused on hands-on learning, clinical decision making, education, and research. These programs prepare them for the realities of working in a hospital—where care moves fast and lives depend on precision.
“We knew we were behind,” said Sarah. “There’s a significant shortage of new hospital-trained pharmacists entering the workforce. We wanted to fix that—for our patients—so we built our own program.”
Hospital pharmacists are behind the scenes of nearly every treatment at RVH. From chemotherapy to cardiac medications, dialysis to ICU infusions, every order is reviewed, adjusted, and personalized. The work is complex, fast moving, and highly specialized. Without enough pharmacists, care slows down.
In 2024, RVH began planning its pharmacy residency program, aiming to welcome its first resident in 2025. But without accreditation in the first year, the team faced a tough question: how do we compete with long-established programs at larger health sciences centres?
That’s where donors stepped in.
Training the next generation takes more than textbooks and clinical hours. It takes a community that believes in investing in improving patient care. Your support helped RVH offer a competitive salary, living stipends, and relocation support—helping residents feel at home in their new community. RVH is the only pharmacy residency program in Ontario to provide this level of support.
The response? Overwhelming.
Twenty-one students interviewed. Eight ranked RVH as one of their top three choices. Thirteen ranked RVH as their first choice. “The response was stunning,” said Sarah. “The fact that so many ranked RVH first, shows how far donor support took us. It put our program on the map.”
In January 2025, RVH matched its first-choice pharmacy resident. Anthony Mazzotta, a graduate of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, will begin his training in August.
“RVH is the perfect place to start—and grow—my career,” said Anthony. “I grew up in a small rural community, so I know how important it is to break down barriers to care. That’s exactly what RVH’s residency program is focused on.”
This isn’t just about training pharmacists. It’s about the future of care. More pharmacists means faster reviews, fewer delays, and safer care for every patient.
With donor support, RVH plans to scale the program to two residents within the next few years and ultimately to reach a scale on par with the largest pharmacy residency programs in the province, creating a vital pipeline for the region. “This is a long game,” said Sarah. “Donor support didn’t just help us start. It opened the path. And our patients will feel the difference.”
A thank you 60 years in the making.
“My dad blew himself up in a fishing hut.”
That’s how Ken Winter met Ruthann, an emergency room nurse at RVH.
Their son Roger tells the story with a laugh, grateful RVH was there when his dad needed care. Ken walked away with a few minor injuries. And the woman who would change his life.
Together, Ken and Ruthann built K. Winter Sanitation from the ground up. One pump truck, big dreams, and a whole lot of grit.Over time, they grew the business into a team of 25, serving Simcoe Muskoka and beyond.
“At the heart of it, we’re about helping people,” says Roger. “Not just selling a service. We believe in being grateful for what we have and sharing that.”
Last year, the family marked 60 years in business. To celebrate, and to honour their family’s connection to RVH, the Winters gave a $1-million gift to the Keep Life Wild campaign.
“The Emergency Department sees people on their worst days,” says Roger. “We wanted to give in honour of the work they do. To let Team RVH know we’ve got your back.” RVH’s Emergency Department is one of the busiest in Ontario. Nearly 100,000 people rely on it each year. And with a growing population and family doctor shortage, the pressure is rising.
Without action, the risk is clear: longer waits. Hallway medicine. Care delayed or too far away.
But donors like the Winters are helping to turn the tide.
The future of RVH includes two connected campuses—the current site in Barrie and a new facility in Innisfil—working as one. At the North Campus, 48 new acute care beds will help move patients out of hallways and into proper rooms. At the South Simcoe Campus in Innisfil, a new Urgent Care Centre, along with 180 new beds and eight operating rooms, will help ease pressure on the North Campus and bring faster care closer to home South Simcoe patients.
Today, a plaque in RVH’s Emergency Department honours the Winter family’s gift and Ruthann’s years of service. A daily reminder to Team RVH and every patient who walks through those doors: you are seen, valued, and supported.
“We just wanted to say thank you,” says Roger. “This community needs you. And we’re grateful for everything you do to keep it healthy.”
Show up. Pitch in. Keep showing up.
David McCullough remembers when RVH’s annual golf tournament wasn’t the Crystal Classic. Back then, it was the Wayne Howell Memorial Golf Tournament—named for a well known community leader and RVH supporter.
David’s Uncle Rayner was one of the organizers.
They try to pin down how long they’ve been at it.
“It’s got to be 35 years,” says David.
“I think it’s 36,” counters Nancy, David’s wife.
It’s actually been 37.
Nancy’s played every year since the beginning. David’s only missed one.
That’s how it goes with the McCulloughs. Show up. Pitch in. Keep showing up.
Both grew up in families where giving back was just what you did.
David’s grandfather was always lending a hand. His dad was an active Rotarian and Chamber of Commerce member. His uncle Rayner is still known around Barrie for his devotion to community, especially local history and healthcare.
Nancy’s parents were also deeply involved. “Dad was a Rotarian and a Shriner. Mom volunteered at RVH’s Ross Street location.”
Nancy remembers helping her mom with the Sunshine Cart—selling snacks, drinks, and, hard as it is to believe, cigarettes.
So maybe it’s no surprise these two found each other in high school. Same values. Same roots. Same deep ties to Barrie.
“Volunteering runs in the genes. At a certain point, you’re expected to give back.”
David McCullough
As young parents to Zach and John, they focused their volunteer efforts on their boys’ activities—coaching and holding executive roles with Barrie Minor Hockey and Barrie Zone AAA. Nancy also served as an executive member for both associations.
It wasn’t just sports. “The boys’ elementary school needed a new playground,” Nancy says. “We helped with the fundraising and got a team of parents together to build it.”
That kind of grassroots effort—where you roll up your sleeves and do the work—is what David and Nancy enjoy doing.
Eventually, David joined the Rotary Club of Barrie. Different projects, same purpose—a better community, built together. Since joining in 2001, he’s served multiple terms as a director, chaired fundraising projects, and was Club President in 2017–18. He also served on the board of the Rotary Club of Barrie Charitable Foundation and was a member of Gilda’s Board from 2010 to 2013, focused on raising funds.
In 2005, David got a call from David Blenkarn, a long-time RVH leader and volunteer, asking him to support RVH’s I Believe campaign. That’s when his connection to RVH deepened—joining the major gifts committee in support of the Regional Cancer Centre. That campaign raised $35 million and helped build the Hudson Regional Cancer Centre.
Afterward, Don Pratt called. Would David consider joining RVH Foundation’s board of directors? He did in 2011. He went on to serve as that board’s chair from 2015 to 2017 and led the Hearts and Minds campaign during that time.
“Chairing that campaign was a very rewarding experience,” David says. “Together with the community, we exceeded our $25 million goal and helped build RVH’s regional cardiac and mental health programs.”
Nancy was with him every step of the way, pitching in wherever she could, co-chairing the Crystal Classic for several years.
When David’s term ended, the campaign had met its goal ahead of schedule, which was a major milestone.
But what sticks with David isn’t the finish line. “It’s the way our community and the Simcoe Muskoka region stepped up for both the I Believe and Hearts and Minds campaigns. And I know they’ll do the same for Keep Life Wild.”
Last fall, David received the David Blenkarn Award. The prestigious award recognizes people who support RVH through action and inspire others through kindness, passion, and a belief in better healthcare for everyone.
At the ceremony, Mary-Anne Frith, Vice-Chair of the Foundation Board and Chair of Keep Life Wild, put it this way: “His humility, wisdom, and love for this community are an inspiration to everyone who’s had the privilege to work alongside him. He doesn’t just give his time—he gives his whole self to the cause.”
His Uncle Rayner sees the thread running through it all.
“He’s doing what his father Bill would do. And his father, Harry. And his father, Robert,” Rayner says. “He’s carrying on a family tradition.”
Today, Nancy continues her volunteer support on the Crystal Classic committee. An untitled volunteer, David continues to help RVH whenever he’s called, which is frequently.
Because with the McCulloughs, you don’t have to wonder.
They’ll keep showing up.
They’ll keep pitching in.
And they’ll keep making a difference.
Septic shock, swift action—and a second chance.
Frances and Claude had been looking forward to their time away. A break from the pace of their hometown, Etobicoke. A few quiet days at their cottage in Port Severn was exactly what they needed.
The day before had been ordinary. Breakfast. A workout class. Then back to the cottage, tucked into Six Mile Lake’s quiet shores.
But early Thursday morning, Frances woke with a pain she couldn’t ignore. It radiated down her back and legs—sharp, relentless.
“I gave it an eight out of ten,” she said. “And I have a high pain tolerance.”
Something felt very wrong.
By the next morning, Frances could barely stand. Her balance was off. The pain was spreading. And most alarmingly, she had lost control of her bodily functions. Her husband, Claude, didn’t hesitate—he called 911.
When paramedics arrived, Frances was confused, had a high fever, and her legs were mottled and purple. Suspecting a serious infection, they started IV antibiotics on the spot. There was no time to waste. Frances was rushed to Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) in Midland.
“This is the moment we started to see how the system of care works up here,” said Claude. “GBGH determined right away that Frances’ shoulder was infected and she needed to be transferred to RVH for emergency surgery.” As the regional health centre for Simcoe Muskoka, RVH partners with community hospitals to deliver advanced, specialized care when it’s needed most. For Frances, RVH was the only hospital in the region equipped to handle a case like hers.
Within hours, Frances was on her way to RVH for emergency surgery. But she wasn’t out of the woods—not even close.
“I remember shivering, hallucinating—I couldn’t even speak. I was very scared,” she recalled.
Frances was in septic shock—a life-threatening condition that requires immediate intervention. Without treatment, the consequences are severe: organ failure and even death.
While Frances remembers little of what happened next, Claude watched as the RVH team sprang into action.
“RVH was there when it mattered most. And they never stopped showing up.”
Claude Bagley
“Nurses jumped in with blankets, IVs were run, and antibiotics were prescribed. The entire process was so seamless,” he said. “We were so fortunate we were at RVH when it happened.”
Within 20 minutes of treatment, Claude saw signs of improvement.
Recovery wasn’t easy. Frances had a second infection—osteomyelitis, in her bones. “I was in agony.”
She spent 14 days at RVH, followed by another week at GBGH. As second homeowners in the area, Frances and Claude were both surprised and deeply grateful—for the level of care available so close to their cottage.
“I don’t think many cottagers realize that if something really bad happens, you’re not going back to the city,” said Claude. “You’re coming to RVH—and thank goodness for that. The care Frances received here was excellent. It saved her life.”
Today, Frances is still healing. She’s back to light exercise and slowing regaining strength.
What stands out most to her now isn’t just the emergency care—it’s everything that followed.
“RVH followed me every step of the way,” said Frances. “Even after I left, my doctors would call me at home to see how I was doing. I never felt alone in my recovery.”
For Frances and Claude, the experience left a lasting impression.
“RVH was there when it mattered most,” said Claude. “And they never stopped showing up.”
Bringing dialysis home.
The kidneys are the body’s master chemists. Quiet, tireless, precise—until they’re not.
When kidneys start to fail, life changes in an instant. Healthy kidneys regulate entire systems—hormones, heart, lungs, and more. When they lose function, your whole body is at risk.
And that’s just the beginning. For patients in RVH’s regional kidney program, life revolves around treatment. Appointments with every “ologist” under the sun. Hours tethered to a dialysis machine, several days a week, just to stay alive. It’s a full-time job and everyone works overtime.
“It’s a hard lot in life,” says Sharon Sheard, Regional Renal Manager at RVH. “We try to make it the best possible experience for our patients, but it’s still hard.”
Last year, more than 500 patients from across the region received close to 28,400 hemodialysis treatments at RVH. Sharon and her team focus on respecting each patient’s wishes, goals, and hopes for the future.
“When a person loses kidney function, they have four options,” Sharon explains. “No treatment, peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, or a transplant. If they don’t have a living donor, dialysis is their bridge to survival.”
Until recently, dialysis meant two options at RVH: peritoneal dialysis at home overnight, or hemodialysis in the health centre or community clinic. Rows of chairs. Machines cleaning blood hour after hour.
In April 2024, RVH introduced a third path: home hemodialysis. After seven weeks of training, a patient can safely dialyze at home with support from RVH. As of 2025, seven patients have enrolled, with more to come.
Home hemodialysis brings treatment closer to life. It creates more equitable care for patients who face challenges getting to the health centre, whether it’s distance, mobility, or transportation, and it eases pressure on a busy department.
Behind every treatment—at home, in a community clinic, or at RVH—are donors helping to keep care safe, comfortable, and focused on patients.
Donor support helped fund the vital equipment dialysis depends on: new machines, upgraded chairs, and the small but important touches that make long hours of treatment a little easier like the annual Christmas party. Every year, patients and families gather with their care teams for a few precious hours to share a meal, laugh, and feel like themselves again.
“For some of our patients, that’s the only Christmas dinner they’ll have,” Sharon says. “Bringing back a little normalcy and joy. Those moments are so impactful.”
Kidneys may falter, but thanks to donors, the delicate balance of care stays strong.
Finding his groove.
When he was six, Ryan collapsed while playing hockey in the driveway. Tests confirmed Alport syndrome—a genetic condition that slowly destroys the kidneys.
Now an adult, he has managed the disease for years with regular bloodwork at RVH. But by the end of last year, his kidneys were failing. Dialysis became his only option.
Ryan spends three days a week at RVH’s Wellington Street Clinic, receiving hemodialysis through a port in his chest. It’s not how he imagined his days, but he’s made peace with the new rhythm of this life.
“I feel more like myself after dialysis,” he says. “I just bring my phone, catch a nap. It’s become part of my routine.”
His dad is being tested as a transplant match. Until then, the care RVH provides keeps him going.
“I’m comfortable here,” Ryan says. “And I know how lucky I am to get this close to home.”
It helps that the chairs he sits in are built to withstand the long hours—quiet, supportive, designed for comfort, and funded by donors. These chairs help make a hard situation just a little bit easier.
When he’s not in the clinic, Ryan writes music and never misses his family’s annual backcountry camping trip.
With donor support, Ryan has what he needs to hold steady. To stay strong. To keep making music and showing up for the life he loves.
Events with impact
Call of the Wild Gala
Call of the Wild was more than a gala. It was a show of strength from a community that believes in care close to home. Held in October 2024, the event brought together over 240 donors and raised a record-breaking $700,000 for RVH. Every dollar helps build a stronger, more connected regional health system, expanding access to cancer, cardiac, trauma, kidney, and mental health care across Simcoe Muskoka. The night was filled with gratitude, as patients bravely shared their stories and donors rallied behind a shared vision for the future of healthcare.
Thank you to our Call of the Wild Gala Sponsors
Braestone Events
In 2024, Braestone committed to raising $1 million for RVH’s Hudson Regional Cancer Centre through its annual fundraising events. They hosted their third annual Winter Classic, an outdoor pond hockey tournament, and launched Endless Summer Social, a concert and food fest under the stars. Together, these events raised close to $250,000.
Wildly Grateful
In 2024, we welcomed donors back to RVH for the first time since the pandemic paused our annual appreciation event. It was more than a gathering. It was a moment to reflect, reconnect, and recognize the people who put care first. Wildly Grateful celebrated those who step up when it matters most, helping build a stronger, more compassionate health system right here at home.
Wild Winter Weeknight
Snow Valley has supported RVH for decades. So, when they launched a festive snowtubing event for the Keep Life Wild campaign, we knew it’d be something special. Wild Winter Weeknight brought guests out to slide, glide, and give back, raising $18,500 to support advanced, world-class care close to home.
Your Support In Action
In 2024, donors gave $15.5 million to the Keep Life Wild campaign—fueling RVH’s bold transformation into a fully connected, two campus system in Barrie and Innisfil.
This is about more than bigger buildings. It’s about better care.
Modern facilities designed for leading-edge technology.
Spaces that attract top medical talent and train the next generation through a full-fledged teaching program.
Research that improves care today, not years from now.
And care that’s more personalized and precise tailored to your genetics, your body, your life.
Because healthcare should keep pace with the people it serves. And thanks to you, it will.
Investing Your Support:
Last year, we granted more than $22.3M to RVH to help grow the hospital, purchase urgently needed equipment and technology, and support other enhancements to your care identified by Team RVH.