Ask any qualified plumber, electrician or carpenter about their job and they will invariably detail how important their tools are to their profession.
It's no different for doctors or nurses.
While healthcare professionals need to complete rigorous educational training to become certified in their field of expertise, they also need quality equipment and tools to perform their jobs to the best of their ability.
That's where the Bonnyville Health Foundation comes in. For the past 14 years, the foundation has organized a local fundraising gala, which has raised an incredible $1.3 million, all of which has gone to purchase new equipment to enhance specialty medical programs being offered at the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre.
The sophisticated, high-tech equipment now available at the local hospital has made it the envy of small, rural hospitals in this province, says Sister Mary Ellen O'Neill, longtime director of nursing at the hospital and a veteran board member.
“When I meet other board members from other hospitals and tell them about what's going on in Bonnyville and how much money we've raised and what kind of equipment we've been able to purchase, they just shake their head in amazement,” said O'Neill. “The equipment we've been able to purchase because of the tremendous generosity and kindness of the people and businesses from this community is truly amazing.”
When the very long list of people and businesses from the area hand over the cash, they are taking a leap of faith the dedicated professionals who run the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre will spend the money wisely.
Dr. Guy Lamoureux, the hospital's Chief of Staff, and O'Neill say the more than $1.3 million raised through the hospital's fundraising gala the past 14 years has allowed the healthcare facility to purchase state-of-the-art equipment that has greatly improved the level of care and quality of life for local citizens.
“All of the money raised over these past 14 years goes to purchase equipment to enhance the many specialty programs we've been able to offer at the hospital,” said O'Neill. “Because of this equipment, we've been able to bring in specialists like a urologist … and most recently allowed us to perform laporoscopic surgery, which most small hospitals simply can't do.”
Laparoscopic surgery involved minimally invasive operations includes within the abdominal or pelvic cavities.
With funds from the 2011 fundraising gala, the hospital was able to purchase a portable ultrasound machine as well as an otogram, which is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment used to conduct hearing tests.
The hospital is also very proud to have recently added a vein finding machine, which is used on cancer patients undergoing therapy.
“When a cancer patient is undergoing chemotherapy, we can't use the right arm and there are only small sections of the left forearm and it's often very difficult to find a good vein,” said Lamoureux. “This vein finder is an amazing piece of machinery which scans the arm and finds a healthy vein in a matter of seconds.
“It's very innovative and truly state-of-the-art.”
All of the equipment purchased by the local hospital from the fundraising gala has greatly improved the quality of life for thousands of patients over the past 14 years, said O'Neill.
“It prevents many of them from having to travel into the city,” she said. “And we also have such advanced equipment we can often send information to specialists in the city without the patient ever having to leave Bonnyville.”
The hospital remains committed to training staff how to properly use this sophisticated equipment, she said.
“It's one thing to have all this fancy equipment, but the equipment is only good if staff knows how to properly operate it, so we have an ongoing equipment training program for staff which is very impressive,” she said. “Our staff appreciates being able to train on this equipment as they also want to stay on top of all the innovations taking place in healthcare.”
The generosity of Bonnyville and area citizens and businesses never ceases to amaze them, said O'Neill and Lamoureux.
“The kindness and generosity of the people and business owners in this community is truly unbelievable,” said O'Neill. “Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed at the amount of support they show for this hospital. It's fantastic.”
Lamoureux agrees.
“I've been living in Bonnyville for 26 years now and it never ceases to amaze me just how supportive the people in this community are,” he said. “I constantly tell my colleagues from other hospitals about our fundraising gala and the equipment we have here and they shake their heads in amazement.”
Ray Prevost, chair of the fundraising committee with the healthcare centre, and his small army of dedicated volunteers do an amazing job organizing what has become the premiere social event in Bonnyville each February, said O'Neill.
“They are so creative and have so much energy,” said O'Neill. “They put in a tremendous amount of time and energy putting this event together, yet they do it with a smile on their face and they have a wonderful time.”
The 2012 gala, set for Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Centennial Centre, promises to be another fantastic event as the theme will be “An Evening in Paris”, said O'Neill.
Lamoureux said working at a progressive hospital where the physicians and nursing staff are committed to improving the quality of care on an ongoing basis makes his job as chief of staff very rewarding.
“We have a group of professionals here that pulls together most of the time and you don't see that at every hospital,” he said. “We're always looking to introduce new procedures and get more specialists up here and we've been very successful because of the progressive and innovative equipment and programs we've been able to offer.”
