Guy Mercier (left) with granddaughter Briar, son Justin and daughter Aimée holding a photo of Guy's mother Rita C. Mercier (Image Credit: RIH Foundation)

By James Peters

RIH Donation

Acres Enterprises founder Guy Mercier donates $1 million to RIH NICU

Jan 4, 2023 | 11:22 AM

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops businessman has made a $1-million donation to the Royal Inland Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Acres Enterprises founder Guy Mercier’s donation will coincide with the unit being named after his mother, Rita C. Mercier, who lost four children before they reached the age of four.

In announcing the donation, the RIH Foundation notes the comprehensive neonatal care available in the RIH NICU was not available to Rita Mercier in their hometown of Mont Saint-Pierre, Quebec, when she and Guy’s father were having children.

“Listening to my mother tell the stories of the loss of their newborn daughter and three sons provided a perspective of what many parents go through with a sick baby or toddler,” Mercier said in a news release. “This was one way for my family to impact change.”

The new RIH NICU is located in the newly-opened Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Tower. It includes a much larger space than the former unit, with the opportunity for parents to stay with their babies overnight in private rooms.

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RIH Chief of Pediatrics Dr. Denise Chapple says the $1-million donation will allow the hospital to purchase Giraffe Beds, as well as outfit each private NICU room with a refrigerator and sleeper chair.