The PCH Foundation is launching its Vital Signs Appeal for 2018 which serves the greatest needs of patients at the hospital. This year, new and replacement medical equipment will cost over $1.5 million. There are important pieces needed in nearly every unit at the hospital, including the replacement of digital radiography equipment in the main X-Ray room at PCH.
In the event of an emergency, digital radiography (X-Ray) might be considered the gateway to further care in any hospital. It can help to determine next steps when time matters most and it is certainly among the most valuable assets at the PCH. An estimated 60 to 80 patients are imaged daily using digital radiography at PCH and during busy times as high as 100 patients come through the department. The room was the first of its kind when PCH opened in 2004 and it has been a vital function of the hospital ever since. Fourteen years later, the X-Ray machine and the additional equipment in the room have reached the end of their lifecycle. The cost to replace the equipment will be $550,000, a considerable portion of the overall campaign to keep PCH vibrant and viable in 2018.
Sharon and Bernard Handrahan know firsthand how important it is to have a fully equipped hospital in the event of an emergency. This past winter they were in a car accident and the Christopher’s Cross couple was rushed to the PCH Emergency Department. Through Digital Radiography (x-rays) and numerous other tests, it was a determined Sharon had several fractured ribs, as well as a collapsed lung and would need emergency surgery. “It was amazing,” Sharon said. “Before I knew it, they had diagnosed me. You get to see them all work and it’s a well-oiled machine. They all have their jobs and they’re so good.”
Like the Handrahans, people from all across PEI visit PCH each day for acute medical care. That care is possible not only because PCH has an excellent staff, but also because donors help to ensure that patients at PCH have access to the best medical equipment available when they need it most.
Those wishing to donate to the PCH Foundation can do so securely online here at pchcare.com
You can also read the Handrahans’ full story click here
Gifts can also be made in person at the PCH Foundation office in the hospital lobby.
