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CHEO Telethon is one day away

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The 39th CHEO Telethon this weekend comes as Ottawa's children's hospital faces pressing issues following two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wait times for crucial care and procedures grew longer during the pandemic, and the hospital is facing new needs for care of depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

CHEO president and CEO Alex Munter tells CTV News Ottawa your donations can have an impact on children, youth and their families facing challenges from the pandemic.

"It's been a tough couple of years for parents, for kids and particularly for parents whose kids have special needs, are facing physical health/mental health issues and we're now dealing with the two years of pandemic, which includes a lot of backlogs in care and new needs like we've seen, for example, an increase in depression, anxiety, eating disorders," Munter said.

"The telethon is really, really important for us because the telethon generates the resources that allow us to respond to the community's needs. The number one issue here at CHEO is access to care."

On Sunday, the CHEO Telethon will bring you inside the children's hospital to show you how your generosity can change lives for children and youth in our community. We will introduce you to six brave CHEO families sharing their story and the medical professionals involved in their treatment.

The children's hospital touches the lives of more than 500,000 patients and families each year. Donations to the CHEO Telethon help provide the patients and families with care and support every day.

"You will see that the impact that donating to the CHEO Foundation, participating in the CHEO Telethon – you can see the impact that it makes in making care better and making care quicker," Munter said.

"If we want to improve access; if we want more kids to get in more quickly, to wait less that means we need more staff, we need more equipment, we need modernized space – and all of those things we rely on the CHEO Foundation, we rely on the CHEO Telethon, we rely on you."

Visit cheotelethon.com to meet the six CHEO children and their families who will be profiled during the telethon.

The CHEO Telethon raises money to support patient care and research at CHEO. Last year's CHEO Telethon raised a record $10.9 million to support Ottawa's children's hospital.

Tune in to CTV Ottawa Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the CHEO Telethon.

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