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Covenant Health celebrates a decade

Holds Relay of the Decade
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By Kevin J Sabo For the Advance

Many voices, one mission: stronger together.

That is the theme Covenant Health chose as the healthcare organization celebrates its 10th anniversary in Alberta this month.

Covenant Health, which is a healthcare partner and contractor with Alberta Health Services, was formed a decade ago out of 12 different faith-based organizations that saw the benefits of combining their resources. The resulting organization has 17 healthcare centres and a corporate office under its umbrella, employing around 15,000 people across the province, and providing all levels of care to many communities.

“The past decade has had lots of opportunity to do some great things,” said Linda Chow-Turner, a media representative with Covenant Health.

The resulting celebration, the Relay of the Decade, was brought about by “ingenuity and passionate people,” said Chow-Turner. The relay was a 1500km journey involving all sites and involving a wide array of transportation.

Some sites chose more mundane methods such as walking or cycling. Other sites got more creative, having members complete the relay on horseback, stand-up paddle board, or even a horse-drawn wagon.

In Castor, Greg Frank from the Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital, ran from Halkirk to Castor, the equivalent of a half-marathon. Other Castor participants including people doing legs of the relay on horseback and walking. The residents of the long-term care got involved as well, with volunteers wheeling the patients around the block in their wheel chairs.

The Relay of the Decade began on September 10 in Bonnyville Alberta, and finished up four days later in Medicine Hat, with somewhere between 500 and 600 volunteers and staff participating.

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