A new partnership between two high-profile businesses is about to save Âé¶čAV residents Bristol and her son Henry Debowski a lot of stress and money.
Hope Air â a charity that covers financial costs for Canadians travelling for medical reasons â has announced that theyâve partnered with Airbnb to cover free accommodation for those same people travelling.
The Debowskis will be one of the first families to benefit from the new partnership when they stay in a Airbnb free-of-charge next week in Vancouver as part of a medical trip for Henry.
READ MORE: Okanagan Foundation supports Hope Air medical care flights
The familiesâ lives changed considerably last April when Henry was diagnosed with leukemia on April 8, 2019. After Henry got a blood transfusion at Âé¶čAV General Hospital, the family flew to BC Childrenâs Hospital in Vancouver from Âé¶čAV the next day to find out further treatment options.
It was then the Debowskiâs found out theyâd have to fly to Vancouver for Henryâs chemotherapy treatments on a routine basis over the next four years.
While Bristol said theyâve already benefited from free transportation costs from the Hope Air charity, she said the additional accommodation costs saved for Henryâs medical trips will be an added bonus.
âThis announcement is huge for sure. I wonât have to come up with any amount of money for trips. That money saved from the trip can be used for Henryâs medication and food.â
Bristol said the process for getting the accommodation and travel costs covered is extremely easy.
âYou give (Hope Air) your specialistâs information, the date and time of your appointment, your doctorâs contact information, and when you prefer to go,â said Bristol.
â(After), they do a follow-up with the doctor, and they get back to you and say youâre approved.â
With the new Airbnb partnership, Canadians travelling to city centres for medical trips are eligible to have their accommodation costs covered for up to seven nights.
Bristol said she found out about the service when Henryâs grandpa was doing research online about affordable transportation between Âé¶čAV and Vancouver. After the discovery, she estimates that her family has already saved thousands of dollars in transportation costs from Hope Air.
âWeâve probably flown between the two cities close to 30 times,â said Bristol.
âIâm estimating that weâve saved five to ten thousand dollars from the service so far.â
When asked about what Henry thought of the new service, he had a pretty clear answer.
â I think itâs amazing.â
connor.trembley@kelownacapnews.com
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