$300,000 pledge for prostate health
July 18, 2012
Campaign resonates with plumber, pipefitter union members
When 85 per cent of your membership is male, support for men’s health initiatives is natural.
The United Association of Plumber and Pipefitters Local Union 488 made a $300,000 pledge to the Campaign for Prostate Health, which was presented earlier this month at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.
“We believe that strong communities build strong families,” says Larry Matychuk, Business Manager for UA 488. “We are proud to support initiatives that benefit the communities we live and work in, and the causes that mean so much to our members.”
The Campaign for Prostate Health resonates with the union’s membership because of the high number of men in their ranks. One in six Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate disease or prostate cancer in their lifetime. The local union also shares a geographic base with the new rapid-access Prostate Health Clinic, which will serve central and northern Alberta.
The Prostate Health Clinic is part of a $30-million Campaign for Prostate Health, a collaboration of three health care foundations in Alberta: the University Hospital Foundation, the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. $10 million from this campaign is being directed to create a specialized Rapid Access Prostate Health Clinic within a consolidated ambulatory care urology centre (the Northern Alberta Urology Centre). This comprehensive centre will be located in the Edmonton Clinic, currently under construction at the University of Alberta Hospital site.
“Community support is integral to the development of highly-specialized hospital programs and leading technology,” says C.J. Woods, University Hospital Foundation Trustee and Co-Chair of the Campaign for Prostate Health. “The plumbers and pipefitters are a wonderful example of the impact that is made when the people who live and work in our community recognize a need, and step forward with generous support.”
With the plumber and pipefitters’ support, the Campaign for Prostate Health is closing in on its $30-million goal. To date, the campaign has raised more than $28-million to ensure that men from central and northern Alberta benefit from the highest level of patient care and the latest research discoveries.
In the photo: From left: Joyce Mallman Law, President, University Hospital Foundation; Larry Matychuk Business Manager, United Association of Plumber and Pipefitters Local Union 488; C.J. Woods, University Hospital Foundation Trustee and Co-Chair of the Campaign for Prostate Health; Glenda Coleman Miller, Vice President, University of Alberta Hospital; Barry Pruden, United Association of Plumber and Pipefitters Local Union 488; and Andrew Otway, President, Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation.
