Give Amplify Connect

Raising the Bar for Children's Healthcare: A Conversation with Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation CEO Mike House

• Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation • Season 1 • Episode 3

Share episode

When Kristy & Harrison Wolfe's son Kane needed help, the Stollery Children's Hospital was there for him. The impact this hospital has had on countless families is immeasurable, and raising funds for children's healthcare is a mission that closely aligns with the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation.

In this conversation, Kristy connects with Mike House, President and CEO of the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation, as he shares his personal journey in children's healthcare and the importance of fundraising efforts like Crescendo and Life Cycle, two fundraising events supporting both the Stollery and Alberta Children's Hospital Foundations.

Investing in children's health is essential, and that's why the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation is working to build a new children's hospital in Alberta. Mike and Kristy discuss the challenges that come with operating within an adult hospital, and how collaboration with other organizations is crucial in overcoming these obstacles. Mike also shares ways you can contribute to this meaningful cause and support the Stollery Children's Hospital right now. Learn more at  stollerytomorrowandtoday.com

Lastly, we delve into the impact of philanthropy on children and their families, exploring how teaching the value of generosity can start at a young age. We celebrate the work of a variety of nonprofits organizations across Alberta, including the 70+ healthcare foundations,  the Alberta Cancer Foundation  and MyKickstand.ca with its wraparound care services.

In this episode:

  1. Crescendo: A John Cameron Experience  (0:40)
  2. Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation (3:05)
  3. Mike's Personal Health Journey (5:25)
  4. Stollery Tomorrow & Today (11:27) 
  5. How can you Give Amplify Connect? (19:01)
  6. Life Cycle: Cycling Challenge (22:51)
  7. Impact on Kids (26:55)
  8. Who inspires Mike? (37:18)

About our guest

Mike House is the President & CEO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, committed to funding excellence at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, located across four hospital sites in Alberta.  In addition to supporting children’s physical and mental health across the province, the Stollery is also heavily involved in pediatric research, indigenous health, and helping to recruit and train the next generation of medical professionals for our community.  Mike’s commitment to kids is echoed in the Foundation’s vision to give kids the best chance at a long and healthy life.  That resonates deeply with him, as he himself had life-saving surgery as a baby and toddler and beat the odds of survival.




What is Give Amplify Connect?

There’s a story behind every action. Give Amplify Connect is a podcast from the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation that gives a voice to the Alberta-based charitable organizations creating community impact, changing lives, and making a difference. Driven by honest conversations with host Kristy Wolfe, it’s a chance for passionate changemakers to share their story.

Learn more at wolfepackwarriors.com

Podcast music used with artist permission
"Okay" by Ellen Braun


Kristy Wolfe:

Welcome to Give Amplify Connect, a podcast presented by the Wolfpack Warriors Foundation and hosted by me, Kristie Wolf. Joining me on this episode is Mike House, President and CEO of the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Mike, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you very much for the invitation.

Kristy Wolfe:

Now, i got to see Mike the other day, so before we talk too much about what you're doing and what the Stollery Children's Hospital is doing, but I actually got to see you at a show called Crescendo. Will you tell people a little bit about what that is?

Mike House:

Yeah sure, crescendo is a musical concert that's put on by the John Cameron Changing Lives Foundation and he runs the music part in support of both the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation, which is the Stollery Children's Hospital in the northern part of Alberta, and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, which supports kids in sort of Red Deer South. So John Cameron is putting on this musical concert called Crescendo. He is playing rock and roll music and music from the 80s, 90s, 2000s and even very recently. He has a 60-piece orchestra and 100-person choir helping to support him And we raise money primarily to help support child and adolescent mental health services that our two hospitals are providing to kids all across the province.

Kristy Wolfe:

It was phenomenal. I hadn't seen this Crescendo before, and Mike actually had a big surprise for the audience He jumped out on stage and started playing the piano. I was not expecting that.

Mike House:

Yeah, you know, when you don't read the fine print of an organization's situation and you're like, oh, i will do whatever I need to do to help support it, one of the things on the fine print was John knew that as a secret hobby of mine, i like to play the piano. I don't do it professionally, in fact, i don't even know how to read music. I have been playing in my living room to my dog and that's all who I play for. And when he found out that I could play, he asked me if I would surprise the audience go on stage and play piano man with him and the orchestra and the singers, et cetera, et cetera. And life is about taking risks and stretching yourself and putting yourself out there. I think about the resilience that kids have when they come to our hospital. I thought this is nothing compared to what they do. I should try it, and so I did try it and it worked out okay and the audience didn't boo and it was good. It was lots of fun.

Kristy Wolfe:

It was a lot of fun, and you got back out there on stage again. I think I started cheering even louder when that happened. It definitely floored me to see you up there, so thank you for doing that. Will you tell us a little bit about the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation?

Mike House:

Yeah, sure. So the Foundation is actually very independent. It has no government funding at all. It is a foundation that's directly responsible for raising money for children's health in northern Alberta but also supporting kids that come from outside of the northern Alberta region to the Stollery. So, for example, we support kids that came from Calgary. Over 500 families came to the Stollery last year, over 50 kids from Medicine Hat and another 50 from Left Bridge, but we had 1,000 kids from Saskatchewan and another 500 from British Columbia And then all throughout the northwest territories, yukon and Nineveh we also support.

Mike House:

The Stollery is the second largest children's hospital by bed size. It's actually in 11 different locations. It's not one Stollery Children's Hospital, it's in a bunch of different buildings And our foundation's goal is to help provide additional excellence towards patient outcomes and family-centered care that the government of Alberta, through their support of the hospital, either tints or have other priorities other than children to support. So it could be something that's related to equipment, it could be something related to research, it could be something related to people and programs, but ultimately it's around that wraparound care that needs to be done at a hospital for kids, because, you know, kids don't check into the hospital by themselves. They come with parents and brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and the holistic approach of taking care of a child is what gets them home sooner, faster and ultimately gives them the best chance at a long and healthy life.

Kristy Wolfe:

Yeah, and I mean Mike and I know each other already. We are a Stollery family And although we've moved away from Edmonton, we continue to use the Stollery because of the cardiac care that's there. And so in my world, the Stollery will always be the most important place, and what you do for families as well as patients is really, really important. I can't tell people enough how important those mental health services, child life services, all of those things that go towards supporting not just the patient but their family as well, is incredibly important. Mike, how did you get involved with children's health care?

Mike House:

Yeah Well, i have a real affinity for this particular cause, partly because I kind of feel like I'm one of those kids. When I was four months old, my parents were in their early 20s. They came from the farm And they could tell right away, within a few months of me being born, there was something wrong. And it turned out that I was diagnosed with something called cranial stenosis, which is when the plates and babies had fused together prematurely and don't allow for the brain case to be big enough in that first year of development to grow. So if you don't do anything about it, if you don't do surgery, basically what will happen is the child will pass away. And so my parents were told I'm really sorry, but the chances of Mike living to the end of Christmas is pretty small unless you get some surgery. And so at that time in Alberta there were really no pediatric services to speak of And there was no real expertise per se. And so my parents went to surgeon, to surgeon, to neurosurgeon, to neurosurgeon, and nobody would do the surgery. And the reason why is because the outcomes are really quite dire. We were told that there'd be a 70% chance that even if you had the surgery, you'd still pass away. There was a 20% chance that I would have a disability of some sort, whether I would walk or talk or whatever happened to me, and then only a 10% chance that everything might work out OK, and I'd have to have multiple surgeries in the meantime. And after 21 surgeons said no, there was a 22nd surgeon said yes, and I give my parents incredible credit for never giving up on me and never giving up on the opportunity. And by that time it wasn't four months into it, it was like eight months into it when we finally got the surgery. Yeah, and I beat the odds. So I had skull surgery when I was four months old I guess it was four or five months old Or no. I guess it would have been eight months old by that time And then again two years old. So the brain grows quite rapidly in those first couple of years And so they needed to create some more space again at two years old. And then I was supposed to have another surgery at seven And by that time I almost joked. They said it was the last cause. I was doing OK, and again I have a wonky shaped head and it's not very smooth And it's got a massive scar on the top of my head.

Mike House:

But there's something about growing up and beating the odds and facing mortality as a child. First of all, you're resilient And there are incredible sort of things that you can accomplish. But you also have sort of a sense of You know that time is fleeting. You learn earlier on in your life that not everything's going to go well. That innocence of childhood is in some ways taken away from you And I really resonate with that. I know what it's like. In fact, i think in a lot of ways it's affected me as an adult. This urgency, this passion I have to help kids get that help that they need. That comes from like because we don't want to just rest on our laurels. We want to continue to drive things forward And I see them in kids, i see them in their parents And that's what drives me to be here at the Stollery I always had, since I wanted to marry business in the non-profit sector.

Mike House:

When I went to business school I was the only guy that wasn't an accountant or a real estate agent.

Mike House:

I went straight into the non-profit sector and I've been in it the whole time.

Mike House:

And I'll tell you the story. My wife and I moved to Amateur. She and I would be wondering about what our lives would be like together And she asked me like what would be my dream job? And I said to her that I would be at the Stollery. She said, well, what would you do there? And I said I would run the whole place. This is 10 years before I applied for the job, so I had a clear line of sight on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I had to be patient And I went back to school and I learned some things and got some experience. But when the opportunity came up, i felt like I was the right guy for the job. And I'm going into my 11th year now as the president CEO of the Stollery And I don't foresee any time soon that I'll be leaving. So I'm really quite honored to help represent kids and families and raise a lot of money for them and give them the best care possible.

Kristy Wolfe:

Well, Mike, I knew bits and pieces of your story but I didn't know the whole thing. So thank you for sharing all of that, Thankful for the 22nd surgeon that actually said yes. But I think that lived experience piece is incredibly important to the job that you do and recognizing what families are going through. But I also think your parents did an incredible job. I'm not sure that I would have been able to advocate that hard for my son And so that I hope you tell them.

Mike House:

I do every day honestly, like you know, like they get they. I have to be very well behaved because I really owe them everything.

Kristy Wolfe:

I'm going to have to tell Kay, and that that's the line I'm going to use for now. All right, what is happening? coming up for the Stollery, what are some things that are changing for you, or staying the same? I know I've seen the Stollery in the news a lot, but it might be because I've drawn to that news.

Mike House:

Sure, well, as I said, we're the Stollery Children's Hospitals, the second largest children's hospital in Canada. But this idea of having a proper consolidated area or space for children is not something that we experience in Edmonton And, as I mentioned, we have all these different sites. For example, if you have a child that was born either premature or with complications from the mom in Edmonton, very, very likely you'll be born at the Royal Alex And there's a wonderful hospital called the Lois Hole Hospital for Women there. But what people may not know is the pediatric part of that is actually the Stollery. We have 79 beds at the Royal Alex And so when parents, you know, have their kid, they think they're at the Royal Alex, but they're actually at the Stollery, depending upon whether they're talking about their child or children or themselves. And which is great, because that's where you want the Stollery, you want that care closest to the mom. But this idea of having a consolidated space for kids has been something we've been wanting for a very long time, and the reason why is because parents and their children are driving past other children's hospitals and other hospitals to get the care that the Stollery can provide. Fun fact I'm a big fun fact guy.

Mike House:

So the University of Alberta is the second or third largest university in Canada, depending upon how you look at it. The largest faculty within the University of Alberta is the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, but what people don't know is the second largest department within that faculty. In other words, the Faculty of Medicine's core element is pediatrics. So we have a critical mass of people who teach, who research, who also are practitioners and clinicians that are here at the University campus helping to support pediatric health. And that's why there's so many amazing things that are going on at the Stollery is because there's 200 plus pediatricians working hard for their specialties to make sure that kids get that best chance of a long and healthy life.

Mike House:

But they're intermingled with the adult hospital And the adult hospital is also an amazing hospital.

Mike House:

But when you have these two amazing hospitals and only so much space, inevitably something has to give And we're renters, we're not owners of the hospital. So the Stollery has to accommodate to a large extent sort of what's been going on on the adult side. And what we'd really like to do and what would really elevate that level of care to that appropriate care level is to have our own consolidated space. So we've been working hard with both political parties, both the UCP and the NDP, to make our case that building a new children's hospital in Alberta that is actually purpose driven for kids and families is not a political issue. It should be supported by both parties. And then this last time, just before the election, we were very pleased to find out that both the UCP and the NDP agreed that a new children's hospital should be built, and so that's what we've been working on And that's our dream is to build a children's hospital that's worthy of the talent that exists in Edmonton to help kids all across this province and all across Western Canada get the care they need.

Kristy Wolfe:

Well, i know that you have an entire team of people that helps you to communicate what's going on for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation, but I also know that you managed to make your dream come true already, so this feels like you're the right person in the seat for this.

Mike House:

Honestly it's my job is really to make the uncommon bridge between a donor that wants to see change in the world and the hospital and Alberta Health Services and the provincial government that need to hear some feedback on what that change should be. And it's not to say that our medical professionals or that our government don't understand how to build a children's hospital. But parents need a voice, kids need a voice, and if we can help support that voice by giving them some unique perspectives, it will be a better place. And so it is a monumental team effort of parents and donors and volunteers that are out there trying to raise a little bit of money and help convince provincial governments and politicians in general. This is something that will ultimately impact and benefit Alberta in the long run.

Mike House:

Another fun fact for you, chris. So our provincial budget, which everybody seems to worry about, which I understand, is dominated. The number one thing in the budget, the most expensive thing in the budget, is healthcare, and we have 106 hospitals that deal with adult health in this province. We have two that deal with children, and yet if you take a look at the population, 25% of the kid, or 25% of the population, are under the age of 18. So we have two hospitals dealing with 25% of the population and then 106 hospitals dealing with the other 75%. I see discrepancy there, for one thing, but I also see efficiency And I would also tell you that, if you take a look at the things that burden our adult population which include cardiovascular disease, which include mental health, which include obesity, which include diabetes and other joints and issues if you think about it, a lot of that health care actually originates when you're a kid.

Mike House:

You know you don't wake up one day and say, oh, i've got heart disease because I've been eating hamburgers and Cheetos. You actually start when you're young and your arteries eventually get thicker and thicker and then all of a sudden then you clog. So it's not an immediate thing. So imagine if we were to invest in children's health. Imagine if we were to help that kid when they were in grade one and two, not when they're 50 and 60. We would actually have a healthier adult population within 10 years And that healthier adult population would carry through. We would actually be able to lower the health cost curve in our province so that we could put it towards other things, and we would have a healthier population. So my pledge is to try to make that message heard across this province that investing in kids is really investing in adults just ahead of the game. And if we can do that we will make an impact on this entire population.

Kristy Wolfe:

One of the things and I'll come back to this again is that the Wolfpack Warriors Foundation, our role within, when we're doing an initiative with a nonprofit, is to make a financial donation, amplify the message of what's happening and connect with other organizations. But I'm just hoping that you can tell people right now how they could support the Stullery Children's Hospital, specifically with the new hospital built, what are things people could do if that is of interest to them?

Mike House:

We're not raising money for a children's hospital until we get a more formal commitment from the government. So the way that people can help right now doesn't cost them anything. All it cost them is their voice. We have a website called StulleryTomorrowAndTodaycom, and what it allows you to do is to send your message to your MLA, to let them know that a new Stullery is important to you. And it's super simple. You press a button, you enter your postal code, the MLA comes up, a form letter is written for you. You don't like that form letter? Press, refresh. A different form letter comes up. We arranged it so that we use some artificial intelligence so that every letter is different, and what ends up happening is that the MLA is they have to answer those letters uniquely because the letters themselves are unique, which is great.

Mike House:

We've sent over 8,000 letters to the government and MLA's in every corner of this province, in every constituency, from Pinter Creek all the way to Peace River, and you can help support us by lending us your voice. Another one you can help is by we have a. Now, during the election, we had this lawn sign campaign and although it's not restricted to Edmonton, obviously the distribution of these lawn signs can be tricky if you're in an outlying community, but you don't have to take those lawn signs down. In fact, it's important to keep the message out, and I had somebody today that picked up a lawn sign because they just wanted to support that and show that off with the community. The great thing is that it's non-political right, so people don't have to feel like they've disclosed where they voted or how they voted or anything else.

Kristy Wolfe:

My lawn sign is on the way.

Mike House:

Awesome.

Kristy Wolfe:

I spoke to the team when I was at Crescendo and I was like I need a lawn sign. Can I please get one as well? So that one is on the way. I also want to mention I get emails. So I'm on the newsletter list for this dollar today and tomorrow And so it regularly will send me just like a little bit of information, so then I know if something else is coming up that I can help support. I've done a couple of those letters to my MLA, so that is a really good one. I will put that in the show notes and explain that a little bit more when I'm doing social media posts for this as well.

Mike House:

And, of course, you can always just raise money for this dollar. I mean, the beautiful thing about what we do is you want to have your own fundraiser in your own unique way. We can help support that. You want to help support somebody else's fundraising activities? We make that so that the tax receipts are instantaneous super easy. You know, obviously we want people to donate whatever they can. So if you're going to one of our Children's Miracle Network partners, whether that's Walmart or Costco or Dairy Queen or Remax or the Brick or whatever happens to be, helping to support them is also very good. And so you know there's no limited way to give to the salary and whatever she perform with it all matters, it all helps, and the majority of our dollars that are coming in are not. They're not huge, they're not hundreds of dollars at a time, but the community believes in children's health and that's, i think, our secret sauce.

Kristy Wolfe:

Oh yeah, absolutely. The Wolfpack Warriors originally before we were even a thought as a foundation actually was a fundraiser for the Stollery Children's Hospital. When our son Kane was having his second heart surgery, we just made t-shirts that we ended up donating the proceeds of the t-shirts to the Stollery Children's Hospital. So that's how Kane came to know what was happening with fundraising for the Children's Hospital. And then right now this is the second year that Lifecycle has taken place. So Lifecycle is a Viking challenge through the month of June, and the reason we really liked it was that it supported both Children's Hospitals in Alberta both Calgary and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, as well as the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation, so we could have people kind of across the province all thinking about working towards the same goal. So how are you doing with Lifecycle?

Mike House:

Good, It's so funny. It seems odd to hear people say Calgary and Edmonton are working together. But the thing about it is with children's health we actually work really closely to get it. We care about all kids. There are kids in Edmonton that will go to Calgary for white blood cell transplantation, because that's the expertise that lies in Calgary. And then we of course do lots of soft tissue organ transplantation, whether it's hearts or lungs or a different thing. So that's our specialty up north, and so you've got this network of kids' hospital in Alberta. That's really precious and unique And that's why we do a lot of fundraising together, because we're always working hard.

Mike House:

Now, as it relates to life cycle, i personally love this event because for me, next to walking, cycling is the thing that everybody of all ages can participate in, whether you're a little kid, whether you're a mountain biker, whether you're a fat biker, whether you're a roadster, whether you're working on a stationary bike, whether you're riding to work or just having a nice bike ride around the neighborhood. We want to move kids' health forward. Yeah, in fact, you don't even have to cycle. You can actually just walk if you want and get support. But it's primarily focused on a cycling goal And I have to tell you that if it wasn't for life cycle, i probably wouldn't ride my bike this month and I would make another excuse. But I rode 11 kilometers to work today and I'm going to ride 11 kilometers back home at the end of the day, and if I can get this done a couple times a week, before you know it my kilometer goal will be done, i'll be fitter, i'll be happier And I will have raised a bit of money for kids across the province.

Kristy Wolfe:

Yeah, totally my feeling as well. We participated last year as well a group of us with Wolfpack Warriors and then just finding we're getting more people on board this year As they know what's happening. It was the first year last year, so kind of telling people about it and then getting involved, but we had some very competitive people trying to bike as far as they could, and this year I've noticed there's a lot of people fundraising as much as they can. So it's nice to see the different ways that people can help participate but also just amplify what the Stollery and the Albert Children's Hospital are doing.

Mike House:

That's the way I've raised my money is. I've said this is kind of strange, but, like I've said, all right, if I bike 100 kilometers you owe me, whatever the money that they owe me, but if I don't reach my goal, i'll be paying you.

Kristy Wolfe:

Oh, I like that.

Mike House:

So now I am on the hook And the fact that people could actually make money off of my laziness has inspired that to give, because they're like worst thing that happens is Mike rides his 100 kilometers. The best thing that happens is I get some money back. Yeah, We'll see.

Kristy Wolfe:

Well, we had our boys out. Our whole family went for a bike ride. We're in Canmore and we rode from Canmore to Banff, so 27 kilometers with two little boys And they did it the whole way. Cain was rocking his life cycle shirt And we took some pictures and posted them as well. So I do want to mention you can join any way you like, but we would love to have more people join the Wolfpack Warriors. If people would like to, you can get in touch with me. The links are in all of our information with the Wolfpack Warriors Foundation. But I noticed there's quite a few teams. You can sign up individually. You could just make a donation to the whole thing, but definitely take a look and get involved because Mike is absolutely right, just a reason to get on your bike gets me going And it just starts kind of kick-starts my summer with my biking.

Mike House:

So, Chrissy, I want to flip the conversation on you And I'm going to give you a surprise.

Kristy Wolfe:

OK.

Mike House:

So one of the things that I love to do when I talk about the Stollery is to talk about the impact that it makes on kids, especially kids who have needs to stall. So my question to you is tell me about how the experience you had at the Stollery has changed your son, and actually not just Kim, but his brother too.

Kristy Wolfe:

Yeah, i'm going to be honest, the care is phenomenal. All of the doctors, all of the staff do an amazing job. What the part that stands out for me is child life. When Kane needed his second surgery and he was six years old, we then also had a four-year-old And we needed to explain to both kids about what was going on. And I'm going to say her name, judy from.

Kristy Wolfe:

Child Life at the Cardiac Care area has made such a difference in our lives with being able to explain to both of our kids about what to expect And then also that medical play piece of things. Kane's a lifelong hospital kid, we know that, but having some resources there that help us to understand what's developmentally appropriate to work with him on and then having those supports that you can call on when you need to, has been really important. Phenomenal because I think that in the world of pediatric health care people still don't know that much about child life. So the fact that this particular initiative with Lifecycle is supporting child life is phenomenal to me, because when I speak at health care conferences, there's never child life there. That's a lie. There was one child life support person there. But making that side of the neurodevelopmental, the family-supported care is really, really important for kids understanding and moving through and not having as many traumatic experiences. So you got me out of soapbox. Be careful, mike, when people flip I talk too much.

Mike House:

How has Kane changed as a kid? Is his perspective changed? Is he quieter? Is he louder? Is he more risk-taking, more risk-averse? Does he love brother a little more now?

Kristy Wolfe:

What I notice is he does things for other people And Kane's always been a hospital kid, so I don't know that things changed. We didn't have an event that made things different. But I really notice about Kane that he always is thinking about what he could do for somebody else. So, for example, we were at a soccer game and Kane decided he needed to get his brother the scarf from the white caps, because he just is always thinking about how to be kind And I think that's partly modeling and talking about what can you do for others? We've been given so much. What can we do to support other people? He has in the past donated to the hospital, like he has a little bit of money and he'll do like a lemonade stand And I know that's a big initiative with the Stollery Children's Hospital But he will actually think about how he can pay it forward And I think that's something that wouldn't have happened if we didn't have the hospital experiences that we've had.

Mike House:

One of the things that I think is most valuable about the Stollery for families is it teaches kids about generosity and privilege And it gets them to think about other kids. And you know what? Kids are the most generous of all of our donors? because they give everything They don't even think about tomorrow, and it sets them on a path where, even if they're not giving the Stollery, they're giving to the community and whatever she'll perform. That's what helps to stitch the quality of life together. Is this idea that philanthropy actually fills in those gaps that we see in society? So I love the fact that I get to be a part of kids beginning of their journey and whether they go on and give elsewhere or not, that's less important than just the fact that they're learning some values and actually seeing that they can change the world with even the smallest efforts.

Kristy Wolfe:

I think that's a really important point. When I was teaching in Edmonton, we would often talk about Cain with my grade one class and we talk about the experience, because I think that you're never too young to know what's going on for other people. That perspective taking can start really early and there is, regardless, someone in each class at any given time who is dealing with the hospital in some way and receives care, and so I think just normalizing that has been something incredibly important to me personally. That experience at the hospital is a part of our life and it will be a part of our life and Cain will continue to use that. And how can we make the best of that situation and what can we do to kind of help raise others up? So, yeah, mike, what else can we do to give, amplify or connect the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation with people around Alberta?

Mike House:

You know you can if you're interested in getting more engaged in the community. And when I say community I mean like Bretton, Alberta and Riley and Peace River and like this is not an Edmonton based hospital. In fact, 40% of the kids who come to the Stollery are from outside of Edmonton. They are from all these different places. So if you're interested, you know we have lots and lots of events all throughout the course of the summer. in small towns We have a parade float. So if there is a parade in your small town and you think that the Stollery can be part of it and we're free, we'll come out and we'll bring our parade float And then we'll try to find the kids to ride on the float so that they can be the parade focus, because we have kids from every community. So, but yeah, helping to support the Stollery and whatever she performed that is. We really appreciate it.

Mike House:

We had 100,000 donors last year give out $20 at a time to make the difference happen, And so it doesn't take a lot of effort or money but it all adds up And again it's contributing back to kids who need it most. We had 317,000 patient visits last year. We have 1 million kids in the province. So, yeah, sure, there were some multiple visits, but lots of times there weren't, and we're able to take care of kids.

Mike House:

I will tell you, mental health has never been a more serious issue than it is right now. This is a horrible statistic, but this is a statistic Nonetheless. We have about seven new kids every day, or like a classroom every five days coming into the Stollery emergency because there is no family doctor to rely on And their parents are in crisis because their child is in a mental health situation that they don't know what to do. And so you know, it's never been more relevant to give. I think the pandemic has really impacted kids partially and we'll see that for years to come. And again, like I said, ultimately we want to try to raise enough money so we can have both physical health and mental health in one space and an appropriate place. So, yeah, support the Stollery, Go online, email your MLA, let them know it's important, Get a line sign. We appreciate it all.

Kristy Wolfe:

All those things? Hey, well, so will you. I know that kickstand was supported by the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Would you talk about that for a second? Yeah, it's one that I have kept my eye on and I'm I'm really impressed, and I'd love to hear your opinion on it.

Mike House:

Yeah.

Mike House:

So prior to the emergency department at the Stollery developing services for kids coming into the hospital, we recognized at the foundation Mental health is something we need to do something about and we didn't want to wait for the government to take its time to figure out what it needs to do.

Mike House:

And so we were approached by the Mental Health Foundation, which is another charitable organization in the province, who had worked on a model of care called integrated youth hubs, and this is a model that had been used in Ireland, in Australia and in British Columbia, and they wanted to bring it to Alberta to provide wraparound care for primarily adolescents and young adults who need not just mental healthcare but also they might have a food security issue or they might need a place to stay or they might need some support in terms of getting a job.

Mike House:

And so the foundation our foundation, the Stollery provided $5 million over five years to help support kickstand and ultimately get it off the ground. We in fact were like its own kickstand, and so we're very, very proud of the efforts of the Mental Health Foundation to support kickstand and excited about the fact that integrated youth hubs exist in Edmonton and Camrose and in other locations across the province to provide kids who are a little older and frankly need a little bit different help to help support them in their mental health journey. And as a result of that, that kickstand is now its own entity and it is thriving And there's. We have a new government now, but prior to the election there was word that the seed money that we had provided helped to kickstart the provincial government supportive kickstand as a reliable source of services to the community at large, so excited about the fact that it's gonna be government funded now instead of just privately funded through foundations.

Kristy Wolfe:

Yeah, no, thank you. I appreciate that. I usually end with a question Tell us about another organization or person that you've worked with that inspires you. So I don't know if there's anything off the top of your head that you could jump in on with that.

Mike House:

Oh my gosh, so many charities. I mean, obviously, like you could go another 39 minutes. I had the honor of serving as the president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals for the Edmonton area for a number of years, And these are fundraising professionals from every walk of life, from the arts and culture sector to education, to health, to social services, to the environment, And what I can tell you is we have such a robust and excellent community here in Edmonton, but even across the province. I've had a career working in Edmonton and Calgary in the nonprofit sector. In fact, one of my favorite jobs was working for a second stage women's shelter in Calgary called Discovery House, which we raised some money to build a new shelter for women and their children who needed to stay up to a year at a location that's private and secure.

Mike House:

So if I was in Calgary, I would say I am a big fan, first of all, of the Calgary Community Foundation, the Calgary Foundation and all the work we do in the community. I would say that I'm huge fans of the 70 plus health foundations that are helping Alberta Health Services deliver care in every single community 70 plus 70 different health foundations And they're all doing amazing work. Some of them are run by volunteers, some of them are run by professionals. I would just a special shout out to my friends and grand prairie who just built a new hospital but allowed the Stollery to partner with them for the children's services in Grand Prairie And in particular their ICU units for kids.

Mike House:

I would say I'm a huge fan of Liza Sunley and the Edmonton Humane Society, So dogs and cats and bunnies and other animals, I'd give a big shout out to them And they're an amazing organization to work for and work with. I had background in raising money for Stars Aroundulence and raising money for the Grand Prairie base, An amazing organization that helps deliver vital care in that first golden hour when people need support. I would say I could keep going Like, if you want me.

Kristy Wolfe:

I know, I feel like I'm gonna have to use a hook for a second.

Mike House:

So I'll mention one more. I am very, very impressed with our colleagues at the Alberta Cancer Foundation. They are a provincial organization, which means that they have to deliver care all throughout the province. That's very difficult to do. They have great leadership in Edmonton and Calgary and their volunteers. They built a brand new $200 million building in Calgary for cancer care, which is great, and they're working hard to upgrade the Cross-Transfer Institute here at Edmonton And glad that their campaign is very successful and I would wish them well Because, again, whether you're pediatric cancer or you're adult cancer, it's affecting everyone. So I would end with that as an organization that I really respect.

Kristy Wolfe:

Fabulous Well, mike. thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it.

Mike House:

Oh, thank you. I bring a fundraiser on to the thing you're gonna ask for money. So there you go, But I do want to say thank you to everybody for listening to this podcast and for sharing the messages that all the people that Kristi invites out on here. We really appreciate it. I appreciate it on behalf of the kids we support And for every kid that wants to ring the bell to end their cancer, or for every kid who has to stay in a hospital for weeks at a time as they recover from heart surgery. For every kid who is looking around in the emergency room going what am I doing here when they're having a mental health crisis? Thank you for supporting the Stollery and Alberta Children's Hospital in the South as well.

Kristy Wolfe:

The Wolfpack Warriors Foundation supports local charities in Alberta, creating opportunities for access to the outdoors and athletics, children and their families and women's education and leadership. Please help us share the mission of the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation advances children's healthcare by funding specialized care at the Stollery Children's Hospital and across communities in Northern Alberta and beyond. For more information, please visit wwwstollerykidscom. On a final note, remember to take care of yourself and your pack. You matter.

Ellen Braun:

Okay, you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. Hush, my darling gonna be okay, You're gonna be okay.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Kristy Wolfe

Host