Golfers hit the links for the 22nd annual Proud Partners Classic golf tournament June 12 in support of Mackenzie Health Foundation, raising more than $260,000 for the Exceptional Care Belongs Here campaign to help build and equip Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital and enhance care at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.
Sponsored by exp., the event attracts more than 175 business and community leaders to the prestigious Eagles Nest Golf Club in Vaughan. Players enjoyed 18 holes of golf in a scramble format with exciting on-course activities, a live auction, delicious food and amazing prizes, not to mention a Scottish bagpiper send-off as they teed up their game.
Ted Langdon, past member of the Board of Directors and former event co-chair states, “The tournament just keeps growing and growing. The equipment that we’ve acquired for incredible doctors and patients is really what it’s all about.”
The evening program included guest speaker Dr. Fred Lan, Chief and Medical Director, Medical Imaging with Mackenzie Health. He spoke to the urgent equipment need for a $2-million state-of-the-art CT scanner for Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital. A CT scanner is a life-saving technology used by radiologists to detect, diagnose and monitor illnesses such as internal bleeding, cancer, stroke and heart disease. Currently operating four years beyond its ideal lifespan, the current CT scanner needs to be replaced.
“CT is one of our most important modalities. As the population in southwest York Region grows rapidly, so does the demand for CT scans,” Dr. Lan says. “We use it as the backbone of diagnosis in the hospital and we see about 30,000 patients a year. A new CT scanner will allow us to provide more accurate diagnoses and deliver more efficient care, close to home.” More than $12,000 was raised in support of purchasing the new equipment, contributing to the current total of $565,000.
Since 1995, the Proud Partners Classic Golf Tournament has raised $2.1 million in support of new equipment and programs at Mackenzie Health and has become one of York Region’s most exclusive charity golf tournaments.