The Airdrie Health Foundation (AHF) has provided funding for two initiatives, according to Mayor Peter Brown, a member of the AHF board. This is the first time the AHF has approved funding requests in its short, three-year history.
“We allocated funding to a fetal heart monitor and to Heart Math,” he said.
The total amount funded between the two initiatives is $21,000, according to Brown.
Heart Math is a program that uses iPads and sensors to assist individuals learning how to deal with stress. The AHF approved the acquisition of five iPads for the Rural Addiction and Mental Health Clinic in Airdrie.
The AHF approved funding to purchase a fetal heart monitor for the Highland Primary Care Network’s Low Risk Maternity/Women’s Health Clinic. The apparatus is used to check the in-vitro health of a baby and is non-invasive, posing no risk to either the mother or her child.
“The Airdrie Health Foundation is so excited to finally be able to purchase medical equipment to help improve the well-being of Airdrie residents,” said AHF Board Vice-Chair Michelle Bates in a May 20 press release.
“One of the Foundation’s goals is to have residents stay in Airdrie for medical appointments and this will help keep Airdrie residents close to home,” she added.
The AHF is comprised of approximately 14 board members who have been working together for the past three years, officially becoming a foundation in October 2013. Its mandate is to raise funds to promote and support health care in Airdrie and surrounding communities through health education, programs and services.
The AHF held the inaugural Light Up the Night Gala on Sept. 27, 2014, at the Chinook Winds Firehall, raising more than $100,000 for the organization.
