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Hospital fundraiser aims to raise over $100,000 for new equipment

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A past hospital fundraiser is pictured. This year's event will take place on March 7, 2020.

This year's St. Paul & District Hospital Foundation fundraising goal is a lofty one, with the list of equipment on the wish list totalling over $113,000.

On March 7, the community will gather at the St. Paul Rec Centre to offer financial support to the annual event. The fundraiser includes an evening of entertainment, food and of course socialization.

Equipment to be will be used in various areas of the hospital make up this year's wish list. First on the list is a fetal monitor for acute care, which will increase the ability to assess maternity patients quickly to decrease their stress. The item will cost about $32,000.

An endoscopy tower for the operating room, valued at $67,320, is also on the list. It will enable the OR to increase the number of procedures being done at the hospital.

An air matress for acute care is also needed at the hospital, and will help prevevnt skin breakdown on patients with decreased mobility. The mattress costs $4,110.

Physiotherapy and occupational therapy patients are also set to benefit from this year's fundraiser. A directional recumbent bicycle and parallel bars for physiotheray is on this year's wish list. The equipment is set to cost $6,343.

A STAT Centrifuge for the lab is the last item on the list. The equipment will decrease wait tims for lab results, allowing for a more timely diagnosis/treatment for patients. The centrifuge will cost $3,638.

Items are chosen based on what staff members at the hospital view as needs and priorities.

"They know what they need," says hospital foundation chairperson Noreen Brousseau.

"The support of the foundation supports our ability to provide enhanced services to our community and enables us to purchase specialized equipment for differing needs," says Michelle Blanchette, Site Manager at the St. Therese, St. Paul Healthcare Centre.

Blanchette offerered a recent example of how the foundation impacts services at the hospital.

"In 2019 we lost the ability to provide Holter Monitoring to assess heart functions for outpatients due to outdated equipment. The foundation supported the purchase of a new Holter Monitor and we should be able to have the service available again soon."

Blanchette adds that hospital staff members are grateful for the hard work of the foundation members and the community in helping to keep services available at home.

This year's entertainment at the March 7 event will be ventriloquist Damien James. He has entertained audiences across North America with a unique brand of ventriloquism and comedy.

Tickets for the fundraiser are now available. They can be picked up at the administration office at the hospital. Tickets are $60 each, or a table of eight costs $480. Volunteers with the foundation board have also been out and about collecting donations for the silent and live auction portion of the evening.

This year's theme at the March 7 event will be superheroes.

"Everyone in our community is a hero. They can all add something to make our community a better place," says Brousseau, as she explains why the theme was chosen. She adds that she is personally looking forward to the event, and is excited to be able to offer something different with this year's entertainment.

For more information on the event, contact Brousseau at 780-614-1555 or Blanchette at 780-645-3331.

 


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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