Three new piece of equipment have been purchased for Chilliwack General Hospital thanks to a fundraising organization and donations from the community.
“The Chilliwack Hospital Foundation is pleased to announce that, thanks to the generosity of our community, we have been able to provide three new pieces of equipment to the Chilliwack hospital in 2022,” said foundation vice chair Harry Geddes in a press release.
The items include a rapid infuser, ventilator and temperature management machine.
The Belmont Rapid Infuser RI-2 is a leading medical device that aids in combatting rapid blood loss emergencies. As a community hospital, CGH’s ICU and ER are tasked with the job of stabilizing patients with rapid blood loss to prepare them for transport to a higher level of care centre; this must be done quickly and safely.
The Hamilton-T1 Transport Ventilator is a lightweight, state-of-the-art portable ventilator that is currently being used in hospital transfers throughout the Lower Mainland. The ventilators that are currently available at CHG’s ER room are nearing 20 years of use; these machines have compromised battery life and require staff members to carry bulky charging ports alongside the portable machines.
The Arctic Sun 5000 Temperature Management System monitors and non-invasively controls the temperature for patients of all ages. For CGH, this machine would be utilized by “Code Blue” teams in the ER and critical care to support a patient recovering from a heart attack who did not regain consciousness immediately following life-saving efforts. To protect the brain from permanent damage, the patient’s body temperature needs to be lowered and maintained for 24 hours, before slowly warming the patient back to normal levels.
RELATED: More volunteers needed to help raise funds for Chilliwack General Hospital
The foundation was able to buy the updated machines thanks to folks in the community who donated.
The Chilliwack Hospital Foundation wants to thank each and every one of our generous donors for assisting us in funding these updated machines. Every dollar donated makes a world of difference to the many patients our hospital services.
“No one cares for the people of Chilliwack more than the people of Chilliwack,” said Dr. Robert Fox, foundation director.
Some of the ways people can donate to the Chilliwack Hospital Foundation are by joining the new 500 Club where 500 donors commit to donating $1,000 a year for five years, making a donation in honour or memory of someone, or signing up for legacy and estate giving.
For more info, go to chilliwackhospitalfoundation.com.
The Chilliwack Hospital Foundation collaborates closely with the staff of the Chilliwack General Hospital to assist the needs of the hospital that directly impact patient care and to assist local doctors and nurses by ensuring there is new, updated equipment that is easy to use and provides the efficiency needed, especially in today’s staffing shortages.
Do you have something else we should report on?
Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Twitter: @PhotoJennalism