It Takes a Community to Build a Healthy Tomorrow
Each year for the Vital Signs Campaign, a list of priority medical equipment is identified and approved by the Medical Advisory Board. This year the list of needed medical equipment totals $970,210. Because PCH requires this new equipment to continue providing quality care to Islanders, the hospital foundation will need the help of the communities PCH serves.
PCH has been serving Islanders for nearly a century. For many years now, raising funds for new medical equipment has been and continues to be, the exclusive responsibility of our communities.
The generosity extended each year throughout our Island communities has enabled the Foundation to ‘bring good health to life.’ Last year alone, many generous supporters helped raise funds for another hefty campaign goal, a large part of which were new high definition scopes, which are now in place and operating at PCH.
This year in the Vital Signs Annual Equipment Campaign the PCH Foundation is raising funds for new Portable Ultrasound equipment. According to ER physician Dr. Steven MacNeill, “Emergency department bedside echosonography is revolutionizing the way we practice emergency medicine in Canada. It is the stethoscope of the 21st century, and with it ER physicians are able to extend their physical exam and investigative skills into the body visually. At PCH this technology is being used on a daily basis to help assess for potentially life threatening conditions immediately at the bedside, allowing faster diagnosis and safer discharge of patients. For example in trauma we can now assess for internal bleeding and punctured lungs by actually LOOKING for these using bedside ultrasound. This allows for more rapid diagnosis and faster treatment of these conditions, which can (and has) saved lives.”
As Gary Naylor can attest, this particular piece of equipment is vital and can save lives. In fact, it has extended his life on two occasions. Gary was in immense abdominal pain when he rushed to the Prince County Hospital in 2004. Luckily, PCH was equipped with a portable ultrasound unit. Dr. Scott Cameron used this versatile piece of equipment to get a visual of what was happening in Mr. Naylor’s body. Gary was in the midst of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (also known as AAA). A ballooning of the abdominal aorta exceeding the normal diameter by more than 50 percent, an AAA can cause pain in the abdomen and back due to pressure on surrounding tissues. He was whisked away to Halifax by helicopter and had successful, life-saving surgery. “It was all very well done. And I’m saying that from a professional point of view,” said Naylor, the former Canadian Air Force pilot and instructor. Thanks to the quick response of the ER team and Dr. Cameron’s life-saving diagnosis using a portable ultrasound machine, Mr. Naylor lived through this ordeal.
But, history would repeat itself just four years later. Gary was once more overcome with immense abdominal pain. And once again, Mr. Naylor’s life was saved through the care he received at PCH and using the Portable Ultrasound equipment as well as a CT scan. After diagnosis he was again rushed to Halifax by helicopter and received a second life-saving operation.
“My life’s been extended by at least 6 years by the Emergency Department at PCH and I’m very very thankful for it….. it’s been a great 6 years for me,” said Gary Naylor.
While it is a major piece of our annual equipment campaign, the portable ultrasound is only part of the priority equipment needs identified. Ambulatory Care requires new Endoscopy equipment, valued at $145,845, Maternal Child Care requires a fetal heart monitor valued at $15,000 and the Diagnostic Imaging department requires an Echocardiogram machine, valued at $102,125. An Echocardiogram is specialized ultrasound for the heart, and can be used to assess the presence of coronary artery disease and determining whether chest pain is related to heart disease. These key pieces and a host of others are all part of the annual campaign needs.
Prince County Hospital treats many thousands of Islanders annually and the help of each and every donor matters to all of them. Help is needed to raise the $970,210 required for medical equipment this year. Monthly giving is available, or and gifts can be made securely online at www.pchcare.com. Whatever the gift and however you make it, we thank you! Remember, that at Prince County Hospital It Takes a Community to Build a Healthy Tomorrow.
For a more comprehensive list of equipment needs please visit www.pchcare.com and click on current needs, or visit the Foundation office in the lobby of PCH.
