Healthcare workers at Kelowna General Hospital getting gift from art community

Photo: Contributed

Healthcare workers at the intensive care unit at Kelowna General Hospital are about to receive a very generous gift from artists across the Okanagan.

Michelle Droettboom is organizing an art drive for the local healthcare workers. She has hosted three drive-thru events where artists drop off art with a personal message of hope and encouragement.

“We are representing the whole Okanagan artist community, as artists across the whole area are participating in the event. It is just amazing to see,” describes Droettboom.

The idea all came to life after Droettboom saw protests outside of hospitals across Canada. She felt the workers deserved to be reminded just how loved they are.

“Our idea was to give a little sunshine in the lives of the ICU workers, and it turns out there are 150 people who work in the ICU at KGH, so suddenly, this turned into a huge event,” said Droettboom.

The art drives began two weeks ago, with the third and final event on Friday at the Landmark Theatre in Kelowna. Because of such a heartwarming response from the artists, they are now able to provide art to more workers than first anticipated.

“We are now able to give a piece of art to every single worker on all the COVID wards at Kelowna General Hospital, which is 350 people who are keeping our community alive. We want to provide a little inspiration and sunshine in their lives,” said Droettboom.