An extended fundraising period is helping to develop healthcare in southwest Saskatchewan.

The Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation is continuing with its Close to the Heart fundraising campaign through a portion of 2020.

The project is helping to fund a digital mammography unit for the Swift Current Cypress Regional Hospital.

No deadline is set for the project yet, but the organization is hoping to have the funds accumulated by sometime in spring, which is longer than their usual fundraising period.

The goal of the fundraiser is to raise $350,000. $75,000 still needs to be raised to meet that objective.

Their fundraising projects are usually around the $150,000 mark, prompting the longer project length.

Jim Dekowny, the executive director of the organization, said they anticipated that the fundraiser would take them about a year and a half to complete to accommodate the price of the machine.

"We were hoping that by the end of the radiothon it was there and it was close and it was done, but with the economy that we live in, our ag sector, and our oil aren't performing like they used to, I think that people are still giving and they're still caring about things, it's just people are real cautious and careful right now, and we respect that."

To help achieve their goals, they are currently planning an event in the Town of Shaunavon around March 28 titled A Taste of the Arts.

That event will feature ten food vendors from Maple Creek, Shaunavon, and Swift Current, artists, and a cake auction.

Dekowny commented that the nature of the event will help peak interests.

"Wheather you're from Swift Current, or whether you're from Herbert, or Climax, or even Maple Creek or Leader, I think that it's going to be unique and different, and I think it'll be a real cool evening."

"The world we live in, unique is something that maybe sells a little bit better, so that's kind of where we've went with this whole Taste of the Arts in Shaunavon on March 28."

The event helps bring the foundation's efforts into 2020 following a June 2019 official kickoff.

In 2020, the foundation will look to the upcoming release of the Saskatchewan Health Authority's capital list to decide what they will raise funds for in the second half of the year.

The organization has put close to $20 million into the region over its 20 years in the region.