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2018 Thomas Hart Memorial Scholarship recipients
Congratulations to the 7 successful recipients of the Thomas Hart Memorial Scholarship for 2018.
Dawson Blahey
Amanda Brooks
Nathan Ferdais
Bridgette Harris
Kira Lourenco
Abigail Furutani
Jessica Klassen
Dawson Blahey
Dawson is studying at the University of Manitoba in the Diploma in Agriculture Course.
Amanda Brooks
Amanda is studying at Steinbach Bible College and hopes to work with youth in the future.
Nathan Ferdais
Nathan is studying at Red River College in the Mechanical Engineering Technician course, and plans to use this as as stepping stone to become an Aerospace Engineer.
Bridgette Harris
Bridgette is studying Health Information Management at Red River College, and plans to get her Science degree down the road.
Kira Lourenco
Kira is studying Nursing at Red River College, and plans to become a Nurse Practitioner in Oncology.
Abigail Furutani
Abigail is studying at Rochester Community Technical College (in Minnesota); she want to get a Photography Certificate and then a University degree in Photojournalism and/or Fine Arts.
Jessica Klassen
Jessica is currently in her final year of my Master’s in Speech Language Pathology at the University of Alberta. Her plan is to work with either preschoolers or adults who are experiencing issues with communication.
Our recipients (Dawson Blahey, Amanda Brooks,Nathan Ferdais and Bridgette Harris) pictured with the Hart family members John Hart, Karen Hart, Hazel Booth, Tom Booth and Ellora Hart . Not pictured (Abigail Furutani and Jessica Klassen)
Kira Lourenco and member of the Hart family, John Hart
Scholarship Guidelines & Application
The Thomas W Hart Memorial Scholarship is an educational scholarship open to any burn survivor or family member of a burn survivor who is continuing their education beyond high school and is a current or former resident of Manitoba, Canada.
2017 Conference
The Mamingwey Burn Survivor Society held its 20th annual Burn Survivor gathering on October 13 and 14, 2017 at the Canad Inns Polo Park Hotel in Winnipeg. The theme this year was “Turning Tragedy into Hope”.
Seventy-five burn survivors, their family members as well as Burn Unit staff from Manitoba attended this 2-day conference. The atmosphere was very uplifting and had a feeling of a family gathering, as people reconnected with other survivors, family members and hospital staff.
Keynote speaker Heidi Cave opened the conference with her talk, “Turning Tragedy into Hope”. She shared her experiences of being burned in an automobile accident 20 years ago. The car crash resulted in a battle for her life that would involve two weeks in a coma, seven months in the BCPFF Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit at Vancouver General Hospital and an additional five months in rehabilitation. What should have been the darkest chapter of her life became a bright testament to the strength of the human spirit. She is now a mother and motivational speaker. The tragedy of the accident has been turned into a life message of hope. Heidi knows the power of love and courage, and how to impart it to others. Heidi gave a second talk entitled “Recovery Road – The Impact of the Caregiver” where she discussed the many people and aspects of care that assisted her to make a full recovery.
Dr. Jennifer La Force spoke on “Post-Traumatic Growth”, and explained how people who experience a severe injury will often display resilience, and are able to gain a greater awareness of others around them; they live with greater compassion and become more optimistic for the future. This talk helped our audience to understand the myths and realities of post-traumatic growth.
Lisa Forbes, Occupational Therapist and Clinical Specialist working in Burns, led a workshop on “Tool Time: STEPS to Social Comfort and Confidence”. This talk reviewed how to respond to a social interaction when one is being stared at or is asked uncomfortable questions. We heard about “Moving on with Movement”, a talk given by Blake Richison who is the Physiotherapy Clinical Advisor on the Burn Unit. Blake explained the importance of returning to a physically active life following injury and gave many practical tips and suggestions that everyone could relate to.
Three of our local survivors spoke as a panel, discussing their lives after being affected by a burn injury and how they have turned their tragedy into hope. Their struggles and triumphs were told from the heart and many in our audience related to their words and were moved.
Conference attendees participated with each other in several sharing circles, which are considered a most valuable healing experience. Survivors, family and friends of survivors as well as the health care professionals had separate meetings and were able to share their distinct journeys.
The conference closed with a banquet dinner where we were joined by members of the HMCS Chippawa Naval Reserve Band, who generously gave their time to ensure we had some great entertainment and an upbeat atmosphere.
The Mamingwey Burn Survivor Society would like to thank our sponsors: The Firefighters’ Burn Fund Inc., the Health Sciences Centre Foundation, as well as Accurate Fire & Safety, Canad Inns Your Destination Centre Polo Park, the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg Local 867, Century 21 Carrie.com, the United Steelworkers Local 6166 and Marie Alkana for their generous contributions that made this event possible.
HSC Burn Units
Manitoba Firefighters Burn Unit, Dedicated 2007
The rehabilitation process for a burn survivor can be a long, painful one. When burns and inhalation injuries become life-threatening or are serious enough to require skin grafting or reconstructive surgery, Manitoba burn survivors are transferred to one of two Winnipeg-based burn units – the Manitoba Firefighters Burn Unit at the Health Sciences Centre and the Manitoba Firefighters Burn Fund Children’s Burn Unit at the Children’s Hospital.
Major burns require treatment from a specialized team of nurses, physicians, plastic surgeons, pulmonary specialists, psychologists, dietitians, physical and occupational therapists and social workers. To ensure that the burn units are equipped with the most advanced life-saving and care-giving equipment, the Burn Fund finances the purchase of specialized equipment for all stages of treatment, including emergency wards, operating theaters, intensive care units, burn units and rehabilitation.
Because of the dedication of the burn care teams and the commitment of the Burn Fund to support their work, Manitoba’s burn survivors receive the finest medical care possible.
Almost 30 years ago, a few firefighters recognized there was a need for equipment at the Burn Unit. The 1st fundraiser ever done for the Burn Fund was to raise funds for a heat shield that could be used on the burn unit to keep patients warm during dressing changes. Since then, the Burn Fund has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars towards the purchase of specialized equipment to aid in the treatment of burn survivors.
The Burn Fund is dedicated to making a difference in the treatment of burn survivors, providing such things as; low air loss beds, hydrotherapy baths, a conscious sedation cart, a metabolic cart, food pumps, training and supplies for a skin camouflage program, an operating microscope, conversion of rooms to create an Occupational Therapy facility within the Burn Unit and much more.
Supporting Research & Professional Development
The Burn Fund has long been a supporter of the burn care professionals in the province. We are committed to sponsoring educational programs for the Burn Care teams at the Health Sciences Centre’s CK3 Children’s Burn Unit, and GH5 Adult Burn Unit.
The Burn Fund is devoted to ensuring that these dedicated professionals can continue to provide the best patient care possible. This includes continuing education seminars, conferences, Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) courses and many other educational opportunities.
We also provide funding for public education officers across the province to be certified in the Youth Fire Stop Program to assist youth who are at risk for starting fires.
Fire Safety Trailer
The Firefighters Burn Fund, in partnership with Red River Mutual and the Office of the Fire Commissioner have purchased and delivered a fleet of 17 Fire Safety Trailers to Fire Departments throughout Manitoba. These are in addition to 5 other Trailers that were previously purchased by the Burn Fund, making a total of 22 units in service. The trailers are being strategically placed so that they can be shared by approximately 150 different Fire Departments.
The Fire Safety Trailers are mobile classrooms in which firefighters will teach children about fire and safety hazards in different areas of their homes, and how they should conduct themselves in the event of an emergency. Lessons taught include topics such as: kitchen safety, what to do if the smoke detector is activated, how to call 911, checking a door for heat to determine if there is fire on the other side, crawling low in smoke. Children are also taught to create a home escape plan with their parents, always having 2 ways to exit the house, gathering at a pre-determined location, and calling 9-1-1 once safely out of the house.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial, moral and logistical support of Red River Mutual and the Office of the Fire Commissioner who have helped to make this $1,000,000.00 project possible. Our common goal is to prevent fires, and reduce the number of fire deaths and related injuries that occur each year.
Young Adult Retreat
This young adult weekend retreat provides young adults age 18 – 30 with an environment to challenge them physically and mentally. The weekend is packed with speakers who encourage the group to grow in all areas, mentally, spiritually and physically. This provides adult burn survivors with the opportunity to connect and build lasting relationships through a common bond.