News

In 2023, the JFM’s Community Impact Fund awarded $1.1 million in grants. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the combined funds enable our Grants Committee to efficiently distribute these grants, benefiting communities across the entire province.

We are part of Manitoba as a whole. As such, when the opportunity to support projects in our larger community presents itself, we are honoured to be able to help.

One such grant was for Operation Excellence, a program from the Health Sciences Centre Foundation (HSCF) that aims to reduce surgical wait lists in our province. 

Considering that the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) performs 25% of all surgeries in the province, Foundation CEO Jonathon Lyon explains that patients faced prolonged surgical waitlists driven by funding and capacity issues, which led to a $100 million capital campaign to modernize HSC.

"The campaign launched in 2022, and we're already seeing the benefits before reaching our final goal," says Lyon. "By 2030, we aim to completely eliminate surgical wait times in the province."

A wide-reaching campaign, Operation Excellence aims to:

• Increase capacity for surgeries by creating more operating rooms and leveraging data to optimize surgery scheduling and resource allocation

• Enhance patient care by reducing hospital stays and recovery times, using minimally invasive equipment and techniques. Some procedures, which historically had a 7-14 day recovery period, now allow patients to go home as early as the same day as the procedure

• Improve post-operative care by adding additional beds for patients recovering from surgery 

"This program has also acted as a recruitment tool for medical staff at the hospital," says Lyon. "People are excited about this. They see we are investing in the ability to provide the best care possible."

Lyon refers to Dr. Alysa Almojuela and Dr. Lev Bubis, two surgeons who recently moved to Winnipeg and specifically chose to continue their surgical careers at HSC due to its innovation in the field. 

"Through the generosity of our donors, we are committed to investing in tomorrow's healthcare today," says Lyon. "This initiative also significantly benefits northern, First Nation, and rural communities, as many of our patients require care from outside Winnipeg. Timely, accessible, and advanced medical care is a necessity for all Manitobans."

As a provincial hospital, addressing the most complex needs of our community remains at HSC's forefront. 

"Community plays an important role, and we are proud to accept that challenge to help provide solutions so Manitobans can get better and more timely care for loved ones," says Lyon. The support of donors, the government, and organizations like the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba proves that we are stronger together."