麻豆约拍


Lansdowne spring campus

Creating a legacy of health care

With a $1 million gift to Camosun, the Sisters of St. Ann continue their 160-year mission of educating health care providers in Greater Victoria. This gift honours the past and impacts the future.

Sister Marie Zaworny of the Sisters of St Ann with Camosun nursing students.

Sister Marie Zaworny of the Sisters of St Ann with Camosun nursing students.

This latest contribution to the聽Together for Health campaign聽tips the fundraising effort to 60% of its $5 million goal for a purpose-built space for 麻豆约拍鈥檚 health and human services programs. The gift will go specifically towards the Teaching Clinic, where students will practice their skills in an applied learning environment while serving the public.

鈥淭his is a way for us to continue our mission of educating health care providers,鈥 says Sister Marie Zarowny, on behalf of the congregation. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a need for more health care services, and the Teaching Clinic will provide more access for the community. It will also give Camosun students opportunities for hands-on learning in a clinical environment on campus.鈥

Camosun and the Sisters of St Ann have a long relationship, and this gift is the most recent development. The Sisters created the foundation of the joint nursing degree program between Camosun and UVic. In their teaching hospital at St Joseph鈥檚, the Sisters founded the first x-ray and bloodwork lab training programs鈥擟amosun continues to educate health professionals in what is now聽Medical Radiography听补苍诲听Medical Laboratory Assistant聽programs. The Sisters also give annual bursaries to Camosun nursing students, another way of investing in the future of the profession.

鈥淲e鈥檙e incredibly grateful for this generous gift from the Sisters of St Ann,鈥 says Sherri Bell, President of 麻豆约拍. 鈥淲e鈥檙e honoured that the Sisters have entrusted Camosun with their legacy."

The Sisters of St Ann arrived on the west coast from Quebec in 1858. While their original mission was to educate, they quickly saw that there was a need to care for the sick and the dying. They set to work providing health care necessities, then training other health providers and building hospitals and schools for the growing settlement. Their contributions have left a lasting impact on the growth of Victoria as a modern centre.

160 years later the congregation is reflecting on its next steps, with many of the remaining Sisters in their 80s and 90s. 鈥淲e call it 鈥榗oming to completion,鈥欌 says Sister Marie. 鈥淭here can be a tendency for people to think it鈥檚 sad, but we don鈥檛 see it that way. We鈥檙e focused on providing continuity, with our history as well as our present and into the future. For most of the Sisters, it鈥檚 a reassurance that what we鈥檝e done has not been lost. It鈥檚 continuing, in a different way, and that鈥檚 good.鈥

Contact information

Jody Kitts

Director, Advancement & Alumni Engagement

250-370-4233

foundation@camosun.ca