Thanks to the generosity of thousands of people, the Prince County Hospital Foundation will be able to purchase every item needed from the 2017 Vital Signs annual appeal for the hospital’s greatest needs. We began 2017 with a very ambitious goal – the largest single year campaign in our history. Through a combination of mail appeals, special events, memorial donations, stock donations, and corporate gifts, $2,366,868 was raised, meaning each vital piece of medical equipment will be purchased to benefit the thousands of patients who use Prince County Hospital each year.
The majority of the donations from 2017 will support the much needed upgrading of the three operating rooms at PCH. “We spoke a great deal about the needs in Surgical Services’ Operating Rooms (OR) last year and for good reason, remarked PCH Foundation’s volunteer board president Patrick McSweeney. “An average of 2200 surgeries are performed at PCH annually on patients from all over PEI and the upgrades needed in the OR made up a considerable amount of the 2017 goal. At $1.4 million, it was a very big ticket item.” Though the project, expected to be completed in the summer of 2018, was the centrepiece of the 2017 Vital Signs appeal, there are many items from nearly every unit at PCH that encompassed the hospital’s greatest needs last year.
Included in that list were seven much needed defibrillators for the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit (valued at $155,083 total). Used in the event of sudden cardio/respiratory events requiring resuscitation, these new machines are “code ready” meaning they require less set up than their predecessors – saving valuable time in a crisis. Emergency Department registered nurses Rachael Gallant, left, Melissa Grigg, second right, and Lisa Blacquiere, right, are joined by ICU registered nurse Natalie Munro in displaying one of the defibrillators purchased in 2017 for the Emergency Department.
“This hospital impacts so many lives each and every day,” continued McSweeney. “People from across PEI come here for their care or for the care of a family member. These are the people you support when you give to the PCH Foundation; their lives are changed because of your help. This was an incredibly challenging, but rewarding year at the PCH Foundation. We’d like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who was able to make a gift in 2017, attend a fundraiser, or make a pledge to help their hospital in years to come.”
The PCH Foundation was created in 1993 to work with community stakeholders to ensure PCH was equipped with vital medical technology required to continue providing quality patient care. Each year hospital staff and administration provide the Foundation with a list of items that require replacement, as well new items to keep pace with medical standards. All pieces have been prioritized before the Foundation goes to the public for support in outfitting the hospital. For more information about the PCH Foundation or to make a gift, please “like” us at facebook.com/pchfoundaion.
