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From left, Beach Radio's Lew Harrison with representatives from the Boreal Healthcare Foundation and Lake Country Co-op. He will be on location until 4 p.m. Stop by to learn about The Bucket List Lottery early bird tickets on sale until midnight tonight in support of the foundation, and also enter for the Great Escape radio contest. (Image Credit: Submitted)
Close Care

Give a Little Life Day moves to Co-op with focus on bringing MRI to Prince Albert

Oct 14, 2026 | 5:17 PM

Bringing an MRI to Prince Albert is a key focus of this year’s Give a Little Life Day campaign, which launched Wednesday with a new title sponsor and a new home for its annual radiothon.

Lake Country Co-op will host the Dec. 4 fundraiser at its food store, supporting the Boreal Healthcare Foundation’s Equip the Vic campaign to furnish and equip Victoria Hospital’s new acute care tower.

The foundation said the expansion will bring northern Saskatchewan’s first MRI to the hospital, allowing more patients to receive diagnostic scans without travelling to Saskatoon, Regina or outside the province.

“Every MRI scan that happens in Saskatoon instead of here is a person who had to leave home to find out what’s wrong. Sometimes they’re driving while they’re sick,” foundation CEO Cody Barnett said in a news release.

“Sometimes a family is taking a day off work, arranging childcare and finding a ride from a community hours north of here.”

The new MRI is expected to perform about 2,000 scans annually, according to the foundation. It estimates the expanded hospital’s services will allow more than 10,000 patients a year to receive care in Prince Albert rather than travelling to Saskatoon or Regina.

The acute care tower is scheduled for completion in spring 2028 and will increase the hospital’s inpatient capacity by about 40 per cent, to 242 beds.

The provincial government is funding construction, while the foundation is raising money for furniture, fixtures and medical equipment, including imaging equipment and bedside monitors.

“The province is building a remarkable tower. Our job as a community is to make sure it opens ready to give people answers here, close to the people they love,” Barnett said.


Last year’s Give a Little Life Day radiothon raised $858,440 to help equip the hospital expansion. The event marked its 20th anniversary and was broadcast from Mann-Northway GM.

This year, Mann-Northway will continue as the radiothon’s drive-thru partner, providing another location for people to donate.

Lake Country Co-op shoppers will also be able to contribute at the till starting Nov. 12.

“Our members live in the communities this hospital serves. When one of our neighbours needs care, we want them to find it close to home,” Lake Country Co-op CEO Tim Keller said.

“Hosting Give a Little Life Day is a chance for our members to do what co-ops have always done: build stronger communities.”

Leading up to the radiothon, the foundation plans to highlight equipment needed at the hospital and share stories from patients and health-care teams.

Pattison Media’s Prince Albert radio stations will broadcast live from the Lake Country Co-op Food Store from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 4.

Donations can be made anytime at givealittlelife.ca or by calling 1-855-816-LIFE (5433), with drive-thru donations accepted at Mann-Northway on radiothon day.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com