Canmore Hospital Foundation

10/07/2026

We’re remembering someone who meant so much to our Foundation and our community: Don Pestell.

Alongside his wife, Hanna, Don supported local healthcare for many years. He helped bring people together through our annual charity golf tournament and helped make the future Pestell Centre for Compassionate Care possible. We’ll always be grateful for that generosity, and for the person behind it: humble, curious, kind, and deeply committed to helping others.

It was a privilege to know Don and work alongside him. His legacy continues through the care he helped strengthen, the opportunities he created, and the many people whose lives he touched.

To Hanna and the Pestell family, thank you for sharing Don with this community. We remember him with so much warmth and gratitude.

We invite you to read our tribute to Don’s life and legacy through the link below.

Some people leave their mark through a single remarkable contribution. Don Pestell’s legacy lives on in countless places, people, and organizations strengthened by his generosity.

10/01/2026

Sisterhood Summit tickets are officially LIVE!

We can’t wait to gather again for our second Sisterhood Summit! Join us for an afternoon of connection, conversation and inspiration as we come together to advance women’s healthcare in the Bow Valley.

This year, we’re thrilled to welcome keynote speaker Dr. Shafeena Premji for Menopause, Clearly: Facts, Myths and Practical Next Steps, sponsored by FLIS Interior Design. Expect clear answers, expert insight and practical guidance for navigating perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

October 29, 2026
Cornerstone Vista Room | Canmore Nordic Centre

With Cornerstone Catering & Events as our Official Event Meal Partner and Host, it’s shaping up to be an incredible afternoon with a purpose that reaches well beyond the room. Funds raised support equipment, programs and resources at the Canmore General Hospital, helping strengthen women’s healthcare close to home.

These tickets sell fast, so don’t wait! Get yours through our website and join us for the next chapter of the Sisterhood Summit.

Get your tickets: https://www.canmorehospitalfoundation.com/events/the-sisterhood-summit-embracing-womens-health-1

09/30/2026

Today, we remembered the children of residential schools. They were taken from their families and put into the hands of strangers. Some made it home; many did not. Some were buried, and others were never to be found. These traumas live on, and it is our responsibility to heal—together.

Yesterday, drummers, dancers, musicians, guest speakers, and hospital leadership gathered with staff, patients and long-term care residents for the Canmore Hospital’s Truth and Reconciliation Celebration.

We heard from Dr. Terry Poucette, a Stoney-Nakoda First Nation and Good Stoney band member, with a doctorate in public administration from the University of Victoria. The title of her dissertation is "Effective First Nations Governance: Navigating the Legacy of Colonization".

She reminded us of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's calls to action for healthcare. She highlighted the advances already made at Canmore Hospital and called on everyone to continue this important work. The traumas of residential schools are passed down from one generation to the next. They are the scars of survivors. We all share in the collective responsibility to heal our mindset, our systems and our health.

Young dancers represented hope for the future, as they performed their traditional dance to the beat of the drums and the healing power of dance.

We are taking this day to remember these children and reflect on how the Canmore Hospital Foundation can further support the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Ųgíksuyapi (We remember)

09/29/2026

When we invest in the people who care for our community, everyone benefits.

One of the Canmore Hospital Foundation’s growing areas of focus is staff professional development. Attracting and retaining exceptional healthcare professionals in a rural hospital means giving them opportunities to keep learning, strengthen their skills and bring new knowledge back to the patients they serve.

This spring, members of the Canmore General Hospital team took part in a Spinning Babies® workshop. Despite the name, it isn’t about physically “spinning” babies. It’s a physiological approach to birth that helps healthcare professionals better understand fetal positioning, anatomy and the ways movement, gravity and maternal positioning can support the natural progression of labour.

Through hands-on learning, the team explored techniques that can help create more space and comfort in the body, support fetal positioning and give healthcare providers more tools to respond to the individual needs of women during labour.
This course represents another important step forward for two areas that matter deeply to us: investing in the growth of our local healthcare professionals and continuing to strengthen women’s health services in the Bow Valley.

We’re proud to help create opportunities for the people caring for our community to keep learning, growing and providing the best possible care, right here at home.

09/22/2026

This is what your generosity makes possible.

Thanks to the support of our donors, Canmore General Hospital now has a new state-of-the-art Stryker operating room bed with hydraulic stirrups. It’s already supporting more than 25 patients every week.

As the hospital performs more surgeries of increasing complexity, staff say this equipment is “essential in ensuring both the comfort and safety of our patients.”

Its carbon-fibre design helps nursing and anesthesia teams safely adjust the table while patients are in place, reducing physical strain on staff. Its enhanced positioning capabilities also give surgeons greater flexibility while helping keep everyone in the operating room safe.

The hospital team shared that this new bed is having “a meaningful impact not only on our surgical patients, but also on our dedicated staff and surgeons.”

To every donor who helped bring this equipment to Canmore, thank you. You’ve helped give patients safer, more comfortable care. You’ve supported the healthcare professionals caring for them. And you’ve strengthened the surgical services available to our entire community, right here at home.

09/15/2026

Our 2025–2026 Annual Report, Home…, is here, and we’re so excited to share it with you!

This report celebrates an incredible year for local healthcare and, most importantly, the community that made it all possible. Your generosity helped fund life-saving equipment, support vital patient programs and give our hospital team the ability to respond quickly when urgent needs arose. Because of you, we have exceptional healthcare close to home.

Every gift helped strengthen care for patients and families across the Bow Valley. It also reminded our healthcare teams that their community is behind them.

We’re incredibly proud of what we accomplished together. Thank you for continuing to show up for local healthcare and helping make exceptional care possible right here at home.

Read the 2025–2026 Annual Report:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65a96e350e3ae811111a345f/t/6aa4104310aae4235e101810/1789136964804/CHF_Annual_Report_2026_web_v19.pdf

09/14/2026

Following our annual golf tournament in June, we’d like to extend a special thank you to Rogers Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink for helping the generosity of our community go even further.

Through the program’s matching funds, donations raised during the tournament will have an even greater impact. Funds will be directed to our Bow Valley Healthcare Scholarship Fund, helping local students begin careers in healthcare and supporting current healthcare professionals as they continue their education and build new skills.

We’re incredibly grateful to Rogers Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink, and to everyone who supported the tournament, for investing in the future of healthcare in the Bow Valley.

09/10/2026

The skies may have been gloomy, but spirits were high at this year’s René J. Carignan Memorial Golf Tournament.

Year after year, the organizers, golfers, sponsors, volunteers, friends, and family show up to celebrate René’s life and honour his memory through a day of connection and giving back. It’s incredibly meaningful to see his legacy continue in a way that supports the Canmore Hospital Foundation, Bow Valley Palliative Care and Canmore Junior Golf.

A very big thank you to Wayco Electric, the tournament organizers, and every golfer, sponsor, volunteer, friend, and family member who helped make the day possible. We’re proud and grateful to be one of the beneficiaries of this meaningful, long-running community event.

09/09/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who applied for this year’s Bow Valley Healthcare Scholarships and Indigenous Bursary, and to everyone who helped spread the word within their circles.

With more than 30 applicants, this year had the strongest response to date. We’re currently reviewing applications and look forward to announcing this year’s recipients soon.

This is always such an encouraging process. We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn about the many dedicated people across the Bow Valley who are beginning careers in healthcare, continuing their education or building new skills to better serve our community. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to apply.

08/27/2026

Earlier this summer, the Canmore Seniors Association gathered for its annual Fun Pancake Breakfast in celebration of Seniors’ Week. Despite the rain, the community showed up and enjoyed good food and plenty of community spirit, all while raising just under $450 for the Canmore Hospital Foundation.

We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Canmore Seniors Association for supporting local healthcare, and to everyone who organized, sponsored, attended, and donated. We’re so grateful to be part of a community that continues to show up for one another in such meaningful ways.