After a successful 50-year-long career in Saskatchewan’s oil and gas industry, Ron and Shirley Carson and family have made a $1 million gift to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the families of our province.
“When considering our contribution to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, we felt that it was a way to give back to our provincial community,” said Carson. “We are very pleased to contribute to this initiative that will bring great value to the families of Saskatchewan and we are happy to donate to such an important cause.”
Ron Carson found large-scale success with his company, Carson Energy Services Ltd. after its humble beginnings in 1974 as a small welding business. After venturing into the industry with only eight employees, it grew to be one of Saskatchewan’s largest private companies with over 900 employees and 17 locations across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Eastern Alberta.
The Carson family made the unanimous decision to give back based on decades of unshakable loyalty from employees, clientele and countless individuals and businesses. Carson considers the gift to be a family legacy that will bring Saskatchewan families confidence in knowing their children and future generations can receive world-class healthcare without ever leaving home.
Born in Lampman, Ron Carson acknowledges that meaningful contributions to his homegrown community are a part of life in Saskatchewan. After marrying his wife Shirley in 1965, the couple stayed true to their roots in Lampman, building a life together on Saskatchewan soil while raising their five children, Tracey, Travis, Troye, Trent and Tricia. Although the couple has had good fortune with the health of their children and 13 grandchildren, they believe in having a dedicated maternal and children’s hospital close to home for families who unexpectedly need it.
The generous gift will support a family space and kitchen located just outside of the Pediatric Intensive Care and Observation Unit (PICU) in the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. The unit specializes in the care of critically-ill babies, children and teenagers and will be the only one of its kind in the province of Saskatchewan.
The family space and kitchen will give families visiting the PICU a quiet, comfortable and stress-free environment away from their child’s hospital room, which is essential to their emotional well-being and key to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation’s commitment to family-centred care.
“Saskatchewan’s new dedicated maternal and children’s hospital, soon to be a provincial landmark for generations, will prosper because of selfless donors like Ron and Shirley Carson,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, President and CEO of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“Their gift exemplifies what it means to ‘pay it forward’ to those families who have served alongside them for so many years. It will help Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital better serve the medical needs of Saskatchewan’s children, and to support their families in the emotional journey towards healing,” she added.
Ron Carson was the recipient of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2011, the province’s highest honour recognizing individuals who have made substantial contributions toward the well-being of the provincial community. He was also named Southeast Saskatchewan Oilman of the year in 1997, received the Ernst & Young 2009 Prairies Region Entrepreneur of the Year award for energy services, and served as chairman of the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in Weyburn in 2009, 2011, and 2013.
Construction on Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital is over 80-per-cent complete and set to open late next year.
