Fall Appeal 2025
“It takes a village to raise a child”
At the Colchester East Hants Health Centre (CEHHC), the Women and Children’s Health unit is a place of hope and new beginnings. The team strives to provide a calm, safe, and supportive environment for every family that they care for.
While welcoming a new addition to a family is exciting, for expectant mothers facing complications, it can also be incredibly stressful. At CEHHC, delivery of babies born after 35 weeks is common, but those born preterm or through a high-risk labor are often transferred to the IWK in Halifax. This means families must travel, separating them from their loved ones and their community at a time when they need support the most.
Over the past three years, 50 babies from our community were born at and received care from the IWK. But the IWK is now facing its own care challenges due to population growth and more frequent "code" situations, making it more challenging to accept and care for babies from outside the city. Our goal is to support these families so they can stay closer to home and have the support of their community.
To do this, we need your help.
The Foundation is raising funds to purchase two new infant warmers. This essential equipment combines warming therapy with the tools needed for neonatal resuscitation. Your Foundation is seeking to replace two existing infant warmers, which are obsolete. The new models—at $53,000 each—will enable and ensure delivery of a higher level of neonatal care, with built-in monitoring and scales right at the bedside.
Replacement of these warmers would also mean staff no longer would need to move equipment between delivery rooms, which is not only time-consuming but also creates a significant safety risk during an emergency. Your donation will help us ensure we have the right equipment in the right place at the right time.
Our campaign is already off to an incredible start, with a generous lead gift of $40,000 from the Thiesen Family, made in honor of their sister, Susan Thiesen.
Andrew and Shannon Thiesen shared that “donating to this cause was an easy decision. With our daughter-in-law, Robyn, working in the Women and Children’s Health Unit, we’ve seen the dedication of the team firsthand. The Unit is dedicated to new life and hope, and we felt there was no better way to honor our sister, Susan, than by making a donation that creates an immediate, positive impact.”
Over the last two years, the Women and Children’s health team has welcomed more than 500 new babies into our community. With your help we can provide the best possible care for every single one of them, as well as for the mothers, fathers, and families who love them.
Your donation is an investment in the health of your community. Please consider making a gift today to help provide this vital equipment. Your support will make a direct impact on the lives of local families, ensuring they receive the best care here at home.
Due to the postal strike, you can make your donation by calling 902-898-2512, dropping into the Foundation Office, or online by visiting cehhc.ca/donate or canadahelps.org. Should appeal donations exceed the current amount needed, or if priority needs change, your gift will be used to fund other priority equipment or patient care enhancements for your Health Centre.
P.S. Approximately one in ten newborns require basic intervention at birth, and this device is critical to providing immediate, life-saving care. “As grandparents, our family has seen firsthand the joy that new life brings. We’ve made this gift to strengthen care in our community, and I’m asking you to join me. Together, we can ensure every baby born here has the best start possible.” – Andrew and Shannon Thiesen