2023-24 Impact Stories

Seniors' Health & Wellbeing

Protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of seniors in our province is of fundamental importance. It’s an investment that not only ensures the best possible care for our parents, grandparents and elders today, but also helps innovate seniors care that will benefit all of us as we age.

		BREATHE program pilot supports seniors' well-being in acute care BREATHE, which stands for Building Resilience in Elders Through a Therapeutic Hospital Environment, is a specialized program that helps senior patients in hospital due to a sudden serious illness or complex medical problems. Thanks to donors, Vegreville seniors are receiving the support they need to retain their independence, increase their communication skills, strengthen their fine and gross motor skills, and enhance their cognitive functioning and physical endurance. Read more.
		Music is at the heart of the home for St. Albert senior Blanche Gau Blanche’s first few months at Youville Home were a startling change from the life she was used to. But everything turned around when she discovered the donor-funded music therapy and recreation activities she could access in her new home. Thanks to donors, many residents like Blanche are enjoying activities that bring them joy, healing, and meaningful connections. Read more.

Covenant Foundation Lottery winner gives back Barbara Barnes donated $30,000 of the $100,000 Lottery Bonus Prize she won back to Covenant Foundation to say thanks for the exceptional care she and her family have received at Covenant sites over the years. Her gift will support seniors' care initiatives across the province, ensuring aging Albertans continue to receive the best care possible. Read more.

Palliative Care

We feel honoured to partner with donors to support patients and families during as they face the realities of a serious or terminal illness and the possibility of losing a loved one. With 760 palliative beds across Alberta, the goal of Covenant’s internationally recognized palliative care program is to relieve symptoms, stress and pain to help people live as well as possible. 

Tile tales: Helping families heal through art

Donor generosity lives on as gratitude in the hearts of families who enter the Grey Nun's palliative care unit 43 with uncertainty and grief but leave with a loving form of healing through art that lasts a lifetime. Read more.

A grateful family’s tribute to their loved one and the Covenant staff who provided exceptional end-of-life care

Family members of former palliative patient Barry Joe share why they were inspired to give back in Barry's name after their palliative care experience at Unit 43 of the Grey Nuns Community Hospital. Read more.

Mental Health & Addiction

With mental illness affecting one in five Albertans during their lifetime, your support makes a life-changing difference for thousands of patients and their families every year. From enhancing the purpose-built mental health unit at the new Misericordia emergency department to advancing seniors care at Villa Caritas – Alberta’s only stand-alone geriatric mental health hospital – your generosity impacts Albertans and their Covenant healthcare teams when it's needed most. 

Donors drive innovation for seniors’ mental health care

After experiencing its care for a loved one firsthand, Covenant Foundation board member Tim Spelliscy encourages donors to support Villa Caritas, the only standalone geriatric mental health facility in Alberta. Read more.

PCL Construction tees off in support of the new Misericordia emergency department

PCL Construction hosted a golf tournament in support of Covenant Foundation’s multi-million-dollar campaign for the Misericordia Community Hospital's new emergency department, which boasts a designated mental health unit specially designed to support patients experiencing a mental health emergency. Read more.

Rural Care

When you invest in rural health, you help address unmet needs in communities, reduce medical transfers and costs, enable families to stay close to home for greater support, and improve patient and resident satisfaction and health outcomes. 

Merger opens door to greater support for long-term care in Mundare

In April 2024, the Mary Immaculate Hospital Foundation merged with Covenant Foundation. With this change, all funds raised locally and designated to the Mary Immaculate Care Centre through the Covenant Foundation will continue to stay local to help advance and innovate care for seniors and other continuing care residents at Covenant Health’s facility in Mundare. Read more. 

Women & Children's Health

Your support helps create better equity of care, advancing the health and wellbeing of women in our province today and for generations to come. Your support also impacts thousands of children at Covenant facilities every year – from the tiniest babies needing critical care, to kids visiting the emergency room, vulnerable children experiencing food insecurity and high-risk teens facing mental illness, violence and substance misuse.

Donation from Sandra Schmirler Foundation champions Covenant’s smallest patients

Thanks to a generous donation from the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, babies at the Grey Nuns and Misericordia Community Hospitals in Edmonton are receiving enhanced care from Covenant teams equipped with new, leading-edge equipment. Read more.

Spiritual Care & Mission

Spiritual health is as important as our physical and mental health to our wellbeing. It can help us achieve peace and find hope and comfort — especially in the hardest medical times when we’re at our most vulnerable. Your generosity helps ensure multi-faith spiritual care for thousands of patients, residents and families and their healthcare teams every year.