Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is proud to announce that Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation has been chosen as the primary charity partner for the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open, to be held at the historic Earl Grey Golf Club from July 23 – 28, 2024.

“CPKC is pleased to once again partner with the Alberta Children’s Hospital through the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open. By building on our first Women’s Open partnership with Alberta Children’s Hospital in 2016, we will leverage our community investment program, CPKC Has Heart, to help the youngest hearts across Alberta.”
– Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO

This year’s goal is to raise more than $2.75 million for Alberta Children’s Hospital. Those funds will be dedicated to support researchers at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute who believe there is potential to develop a routine blood test to provide earlier detection of congenital heart defects or other anomalies at birth so parents and caregivers can be prepared before the baby is born.

“Every year in Alberta, there are approximately 550 babies born with a congenital heart defect. With this incredible support from the CPKC Women’s Open, our researchers are working to develop a new, non-invasive test to identify these problems sooner, leading to better prenatal care and opportunities for critical life-saving interventions.”
– Saifa Koonar, President and CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation

“It has been inspiring to share in the impact of CPKC Has Heart on the lives of countless youth and families in the host communities of the CPKC Women’s Open,” said Laurence Applebaum, CEO of Golf Canada. “Bringing the 50th playing of our National Women’s Open Championship back to Calgary and now to Earl Grey Golf Club for the first time will be special. I know that golf fans and event enthusiasts will celebrate the CPKC Women’s Open as a week-long festival experience that will leave a meaningful community legacy in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.”

The Tournament Partners of the LPGA awarded the CPKC Women’s Open, hosted August 22-27 at Vancouver’s Shawnessy Golf and Country Club, with Tournament of the Year in 2023 for the second consecutive year. Golf Canada and CPKC also received Gold Driver Awards for Best Sponsor Activation in 2019, 2022 and 2023 as well as Best Community and Charity Engagement in 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Meet Lauren

After a normal, healthy pregnancy with twins, Traci and Tony Migliarese were completely shocked when doctors told them that one of their newborn daughters was showing signs of struggle with her heart and breathing. In fact, it turned out that baby Lauren had a congenital heart defect (CHD) known as pulmonary atresia – in her case, the valve that lets blood out of the heart to go to the lungs was only half as wide as it should have been.

She required corrective surgery at one day old, and then an additional major surgery when she was five months to rewire her heart in order to maintain proper blood flow through the years of growth to come. While there were complications from the surgery that required a lengthy hospital stay, the Migliarese family were grateful for the expert care they received – all while learning to navigate their new, busy life with twins.

Now 14, Lauren has been followed closely her entire life by her cardiologist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Monitored every nine months with an echocardiogram and ECG, her team keeps a close eye on her heart and watches for signs that another surgery to replace the repaired valve might be required. These regular check-ins give Tony and Traci peace of mind that their athletic, volleyball-playing daughter is in the best possible health.

For young people born with congenital heart defects like Lauren, it is critical that they understand their condition and are prepared to manage their health as they enter their adult years. This can be a time of great risk for cardiology patients as they strive for independence. In the next couple years, Lauren will be entering a transition phase of her care to introduce her to new specialists and services in adult cardiac care in Calgary. Funded in part by proceeds from the 2016 CP Women’s Open in Calgary, this two-year program ensures young people are fully educated about their condition and educated to recognize the signs of potential heart problems.

Your support for CPKC could make earlier identification of CHD possible.

Researchers at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute believe there is potential to develop a routine blood test to provide earlier detection of congenital heart defects or other anomalies at birth so parents like Traci and Tony could be prepared in advance. Identifying these problems sooner would lead to better prenatal care and the opportunity for life-saving interventions.

“We’ve been so grateful for the care Lauren and our entire family have received on this journey. However, knowing ahead of time that we’d be walking this road would have made those early months so much easier to navigate. How wonderful that the CPKC Women’s Open is supporting this innovative research that has the potential to change prenatal care here and around the world!”
– Traci, Lauren’s mom