On Thursday, August 22, the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF) celebrated a transformational gift to women’s health of $285,000—$185,000 from B’nai Brith Kingston’s 2018 An Evening With event and $100,000 from Kingston Health Sciences Centre’s (KHSC) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology—in support of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) equipment at the Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site.
 

“This gift is a great example of partnership in action,” says Dr. David Pichora, President and CEO, KHSC, “With the combined generosity of our dedicated physicians, and the loyal support of B’nai Brith Kingston, our academic health sciences centre is well on its way to providing the tools, space and equipment needed to care for the women of southeastern Ontario where and how it is needed most.”
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The B’nai Brith Kingston lodge has supported healthcare in southeastern Ontario for many years.  This is the third time in recent history that UHKF has been the recipient of the proceeds of the annual An Evening With event. “Our members have always been dedicated to the health and well-being of our community,” says Adam Koven, President, B'nai Brith Lodge 1191 Kingston, “We are proud to know this gift will help improve the quality of life for women in our community, and that tomorrow’s doctors will benefit from access to this innovative equipment today.”
 
Dr. Romy Nitsch, Program Medical Director, Surgery and Perioperative Services, KHSC says minimally invasive surgeries are a, “Step in the right direction,” for women and that this investment will, “Help assure women that they are in the very best hands and that those hands are using the most modern tools available to them.”

“We are all grateful to the members of B’nai Brith Kingston, who have once again stepped up for healthcare,” says Liz Wilson, Chair, UHKF Board, “And we are especially grateful to our remarkable physicians who have gone so far above and beyond the call of duty, as donors and advocates, for their patients.”

About B’nai Brith
B’nai Brith International is the oldest Jewish service organization in the world. Kingston's B'nai Brith Lodge #1191 received its charter on 26 December 1934 and since then has raised money for numerous causes. The B’nai Brith Kingston lodge has supported healthcare in southeastern Ontario for many years.  UHKF has been the recipient of the proceeds of the annual “An Evening with” event three times in recent history. In total the B’nai Brith Kingston Lodge has donated over $575,000 to our hospitals with proceeds supporting renovations to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Urgent Consult Clinic at the Hotel Dieu Hospital site and funding patient centered research at the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario.
 
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology – 2018 Davies Award Recipients
In 2018, Dr. Graeme Smith, Dr. Romy Nitsch and Dr. Shawna Johnston, joined forces in support of minimally invasive surgery (MIS), through the 2018 Evening with Martin Luther King III event hosted by B’nai Brith. They threw their own financial support behind the event through a commitment of $100,000 from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. They also prepared a persuasive case to be selected as the benefactor of the evening and presented the case for support on the night of the event. As a result of these efforts, they were awarded the 2018 Davies Award for Philanthropic Leadership.