History

History of the Vulcan County Health and Wellness Foundation

Milestones

May 2012

  • The Foundation host its First Awareness evening Jazz Night Event at the Vulcan Lodge Hall

June 2012

  • The first advertisement to recruit Trustees goes into the Vulcan Advocate

October 2015

  • Vulcan County and the Town of Vulcan both agreed to match, dollar for dollar, all funds raised by the Foundation for the Vulcan Community Health Centre. A $1.00 donation now will become a $3.00 donation thanks to the Town and the County!

December 2015

  • Representatives of Alberta Health Services, Vulcan County, the Town of Vulcan, and the Board of the VCH&WF signed an agreement signalling the official start of the expansion of the Vulcan Community Health Centre.

January 2016 –  The Foundation’s Board of Trustees Focuses on Wellness

  • Dedicated wellness spaces are added to the expansion plans.
  • As the province moves from a model that was focused on primary health care to one that focuses on “wellness,” it made sense that the Foundation include spaces for a Wellness Centre in the new wing of our health centre.

June 2016

  • The Foundation held its “Taste of Italy” fundraising event complete with an evening of Duelling Pianos

May 2016 – First Vulcan County-Wide Fitness Challenge

  • One of the goals of the Vulcan County Health & Wellness Foundation is to develop, promote, and deliver health and wellness programs that serve the residents of Vulcan County.
  • One of the activities the Foundation created to help us achieve that goal is the County-Wide Fitness Challenge. This unique wellness program is designed to reach every corner of the county. 

May 14, 2017

  • Mother’s day pledge walk/run welcomes a large turnout

June 24, 2017

  • All aboard the Aspen Crossing Train for the Barley Run, a fun crowd came out to enjoy the day, the experience and learn more about the VCHWFoundation and its vision

June 2018 – Ground-breaking Ceremony

  • The Chair of the VCHWF Scott Mitchell accompanied by local representatives of the Federal, Provincial, County, and Municipal governments, along with several Alberta Health Services dignitaries, participated in the official ground-breaking ceremony.

May 2019 – Expansion Construction Ramps Up

  • After a five-month delay, construction of the new wing of the Vulcan Community Health Centre resumes.

April 2019 – Community Outreach

  • Trustees travel around Vulcan County reassuring residents the expansion of the Vulcan Community Health Centre will proceed. These meetings provided an opportunity to explain the final $6.1 million-dollar tendered bid.

September 9, 2019

  • With the steel framework as a backdrop, the VCHWFoundation welcomed the community to a BBQ Beef on a Bun lunch. It was a great time and location to share construction progress updates. Lunch was generously sponsored by McKay Hlavacek Architects. 

February 2020

  • Foundation Trustees see the interior of the new wing for the first time.

May 2020 – The Vulcan County-Wide Fitness Challenge Rebranded

  • The annual Vulcan County-Wide Wellness Challenge encompassing all Vulcan County Residents and the Seven Pillars of Wellness.
  • The Wellness Challenge is designed to give participants ideas on how to stay healthy, and how to contribute to a healthy Vulcan County community.

October 2020 – The Heritage Wall unveiled.

  • The Heritage wall was a significant fundraising initiative brought forward by one of the VCHW Foundation’s founding members, the late Donna Graham. A tribute to Donna is proudly incorporated into the Heritage Wall.

October 6, 2020

  • The Vulcan Medical Clinic, located in the new wing of the Vulcan Community Health Centre, opens for business.

March 30, 2021

  • The Foundation’s Bursary Program Expanded
  • Bursaries are now available for:
    • healthcare professionals working at an AHS-sanctioned healthcare facility in Vulcan County.
    • individual members of Vulcan County Emergency Services associated with one of the Fire Stations located in Arrowwood, Milo, Lomond, Vulcan, Champion, or Carmangay.
    • volunteer advocates of the Vulcan Regional Victims Services Society.

November 2021 The Project Wellness Advisory Committee is established.

  • Purpose
    • The VCHWF is following through on its commitment to its donor community to develop the two pillars of Wellness Programing and Education. 
    • To this end, the Wellness Project Advisory Committee is charged with exploring the Foundation’s role in leading or establishing Wellness Programming with its AHS partners in the spaces designated for these purposes in the Vulcan Community Health Centre (VCHC).

January 2022

  • The purchase of the Resusci Annie ALS Simulator Mannequins for the Vulcan Community Health Centre. This Advanced Life-Saving Simulation equipment gives digital real-time feedback during training improving the quality of this training to our healthcare workers, and other community groups.

February 2022 

  • The purchase of seven Zoll Auto Pulse Resuscitation Systems for the six Fire Stations located in Vulcan County, as well as the Incident Command Vehicle in Vulcan County. 
    • The AutoPulse® Resuscitation System provides high-quality automated CPR to victims of sudden cardiac arrest. It is easy to use and is battery-operated, the AutoPulse squeezes the patient’s entire chest to improve blood flow to the heart and brain. AutoPulse automatically sizes to fit the patient and has shown improved outcomes in numerous clinical trials. Compared with manual CPR, AutoPulse has been shown to reduce interruptions in compressions during transport by more than 85%. 

February 2022

  • The VCH&WF, with the support of the family of Leonard Nimoy, have created “The Remembering Leonard Nimoy Wellness Academy”.
    • “The Remembering Leonard Nimoy Wellness Academy will be a global Digital Community Health Hub for anyone seeking information or help with respiratory disease and prevention. This Virtual health platform will bring healing information to individuals around the world, and we couldn’t be more excited to be doing it in partnership with the Nimoy Family.”