CWB National Leasing donates $15,000 to St-Boniface Hospital Foundation for research equipment

By: Samantha Squire, Public Relations Coordinator

In honour of its employees, CWB National Leasing donated $15,000 to the St-Boniface Hospital Foundation for cardiac research equipment

Over the past couple years, a number of CWB National Leasing employees have relied on the leading-edge cardiac care at St-Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.

Michael Dubowec, Senior Executive Vice-president at CWB National Leasing, was experiencing unfamiliar back pain. At the time, he thought it was from a hockey-related injury.

“I was going for a run on a Friday afternoon and I barely made it to the end of the street before I had to stop,” said Michael. “My back was in a lot of pain. Something didn’t feel right, so I drove myself to the hospital.”

A couple hours after bloodwork and other tests, the doctors called Michael back in to tell him he’s been having a heart attack all week. About 15 minutes after hearing the news, Michael suffered a massive heart attack and was rushed to the St-Boniface Hospital for immediate surgery.

“I had what they call a Widowmaker heart attack, which can kill you in minutes,” said Michael. “If I wasn’t at the hospital when it happened, I wouldn’t be here today. It’s truly the doctors at the St-Boniface Hospital that saved my life.”

After hearing the impact St-Boniface Hospital had on members of our team, we knew we wanted to contribute in some way. We decided to donate $15,000 toward a Quantitative PCR Thermocycler to support cardiac fibrosis research at Hospital’s Albrechtsen Research Centre.

“As a heart attack survivor, I’m so grateful CWB National Leasing had the opportunity to donate $15,000 to the Foundation to put toward a new piece of equipment,” said Michael. “I know first-hand how important it is to have the equipment and resources necessary to save lives, and I know the several CWB National Leasing employees who have experienced significant heart issues would say the same thing.”

Last month, a group of CWB National Leasing employees had the opportunity to tour the Albrechtsen Research Centre. They got to see the piece of equipment CWB National Leasing helped purchased and heard about the positive impact it has already made.

“The qPCR machine is a true workhorse of the lab,” said Dr.Czubryt. “It’s been in use nearly every day since we purchased it, all thanks to CWB National Leasing.”