{"id":317103,"date":"2025-11-30T21:04:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T21:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/317103\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T21:04:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T21:04:18","slug":"regina-hospital-lottery-winners-revealed-as-foundation-outlines-funding-commitments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/317103\/","title":{"rendered":"Regina hospital lottery winners revealed as foundation outlines funding commitments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Hospitals of Regina Foundation is celebrating its newest lottery winners while highlighting the growing financial pressure in Regina\u2019s health-care system.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking inside the Ripplinger Homes show home, foundation president and CEO Dino Sophocleous said the annual lottery remains \u201ccritical\u201d to supporting hospitals across southern Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n<p>Read more:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lottery does not sell itself. Our friends in the media are very, very important to this program,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis community steps up every year, and we are very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophocleous noted that the foundation supports not only the Regina General and Pasqua hospitals, but also Wascana Rehab, the Urgent Care Centre, the Breast Health Centre, and 12 long-term care homes. Since the lottery began in 1987, the program has raised $68.5 million to improve health care in the region.<\/p>\n<p>$1.2M raised in this fall\u2019s lottery, $5.9M committed for 2025<\/p>\n<p>Sophocleous said this year\u2019s fall lottery will contribute about $1.2 million, once the revenue has been audited. This year\u2019s lottery sold about 45,000 tickets to between 22,000 and 23,000 individual purchasers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat becomes part of our $5.9 million in commitments for 2025,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He said those commitments include:<\/p>\n<p>$1.7 million for pediatric and maternal health;<br \/>\n$1.3 million for surgical technology and equipment;<br \/>\n$200,000 for cardiac care;<br \/>\n$235,00 for long-term care;<br \/>\n$400,00 for diagnostic imaging;<br \/>\n$375,000 for the Pasqua Eye Centre; and<br \/>\nFunding for medical fellowships in pediatric surgery, pediatric and adolescent gynecology, and sleep medicine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are the only foundation in Regina that directly supports health care,\u201d Sophocleous said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery January 1, we start with a zero balance. We make the commitments first, then go raise the money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophocleous said pediatric demand is climbing quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see about 20,00 children a year now. A few years ago, it was 12,000 to 15,000. As the population grows, that will continue to grow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Balgonie family stunned by $110,000 early bird win<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1-9.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-937908\" class=\"size-full wp-image-937908\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1-9.jpg\" alt=\"Dino Sophocleous stands beside early-bird winner Dorianne Piller as she receives her prize envelope at the Home Lottery event.\" width=\"884\" height=\"587\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-937908\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Early bird winner Dorianne Piller accepts her $110,000 prize from Hospitals of Regina Foundation CEO Dino Sophocleous. (Jacob Bamhour\/980 CJME)<\/p>\n<p>Dorianne Piller, the early bird prize winner, said she and her husband only began buying tickets a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe figured if nothing comes of it, it\u2019s still a good donation,\u201d Piller said. \u201cWe have twin two-year-old girls who were born here in Regina, so it\u2019s always a good cause to support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Piller said she missed several calls while getting her kids ready for bed before discovering she\u2019d won the $110,000 prize.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople of all ages are dealing with debt these days, especially families with young kids. This gives us breathing room; paying things down, car payments, even putting money away for our girls\u2019 future,\u201d Piller said.<\/p>\n<p>50\/50 winner says \u2018a dream came true\u2019<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-937909\" class=\"size-full wp-image-937909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-10.jpg\" alt=\"Foundation CEO Dino Sophocleous stands with Gerald and partner as they hold an oversized cheque for $535,375 from the Home Lottery's 50\/50 prize.\" width=\"884\" height=\"587\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-937909\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gerald Mydan and his partner accept their $535,375 cheque after winning the Hospitals of Regina Foundation Home Lottery\u2019s 50\/50 draw. (Jacob Bamhour\/980 CJME)<\/p>\n<p>Gerald Mydan, winner of the $535,375 50\/50 prize, said he\u2019s purchased a ticket \u201cevery year I can remember,\u201d which usually consists of one home lottery ticket and one 50\/50 entry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t buy a ticket, you don\u2019t win, and finally a dream came true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mydan said he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjme.com\/2025\/11\/27\/long-trek-from-uruguay-to-agribition-totally-worth-it\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">at Agribition taking in the rodeo<\/a> when his phone began buzzing with messages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know if there ever was a rodeo after that,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n<p>Show home winner receives keys<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3-8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-937910\" class=\"size-full wp-image-937910\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3-8.jpg\" alt=\"Hospitals of Regina Foundation CEO Dino Sophocleous presents Christian Flaman with the oversized ceremonial key and prize envelope inside the Ripplinger Homes show home.\" width=\"884\" height=\"587\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-937910\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hospitals of Regina Foundation CEO Dino Sophocleous presents show home winner Christian Flaman with the ceremonial key to the $1.7-million Ripplinger Homes grand prize. (Jacob Bamhour\/980 CJME)<\/p>\n<p>Christian Flaman, winner of the $1.7 million Ripplinger Homes grand prize, accepted the oversized ceremonial key and toured the fully furnished property along with foundation staff. He made no remarks, but appeared excited as he received the $50,000 cash bonus that comes with the home.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A means to an end\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Sophocleous said the prizes are frequently life-changing for the winners, but the impact of the annual lottery goes far beyond that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe show home is great and the prizes are fantastic, but all of this is a means to an end. This is about our friends, our neighbours and our families,\u201d Sophocleous said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur promise, since 1987, has been to provide the best care possible for everyone in southern Saskatchewan.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hospitals of Regina Foundation is celebrating its newest lottery winners while highlighting the growing financial pressure in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-317103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}