Giving Tuesday Initiative Aims to Fund New ICU Patient Monitoring System for Victoria General Hospital; Donations Matched Up to $50,000
On Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2022, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation is inviting our giving community to help raise up to $500,000 in support of It’s More than Just a Monitor. The fundraising efforts will help purchase a new patient monitoring system for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Victoria General Hospital (VGH). The system includes ten bedside monitors, associated unit monitors, and software upgrades.
“The patient monitoring system that we use in the ICU at Victoria General Hospital is over 17 years old,” says Susan Butler, ICU Manager at VGH. “This is a vital system that we use daily to monitor the most critically ill patients from all over Vancouver Island—and it needs to be updated. As healthcare professionals, we need access to the leading edge tools that enhance our work and ultimately benefit our patients. To all the VHF donors supporting Giving Tuesday with a donation to help us complete this important upgrade, we sincerely thank you.”
Thanks to a generous local couple, community donations will have double the impact. When donors give to It’s More than Just a Monitor, their donations will be matched up to a total of $50,000. The Victoria Hospitals Foundation extends a warm thank-you to this couple who continue to champion local healthcare.
Patient monitoring systems provide real-time information on a patient’s status and vital signs including blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and heart activity. This new system features larger display screens, new algorithms that reduce interference, and improved alarm settings to reduce alarm fatigue. The new system also includes portable WiFi-enabled monitors so caregivers can stay up-to-date on a patient’s status whether that’s at the bedside, from a nurse’s station, or another part of the hospital.
And inspired to join the initiative, GAIN Group has also committed to donating $50,000. “Whether it’s your parents, friends, children, loved ones, or peers—someone you know will be touched and helped by our local hospitals and care workers,” says Oliver Booth, GAIN Group. “We know that Victoria General Hospital’s ICU needs a new patient monitoring system and wanted to help make a difference. Our gift to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation of $50,000 to fund one of the ten monitors needed was our way of supporting the community and the healthcare system within it. With this gift, we hope to inspire other businesses and those in the community to join us in strengthening local critical care.”
“Technology advancements happen everyday,” says Avery Brohman, CEO of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. “Whether we are updating our own personal cell phones or the television in our homes, we often take these upgrades for granted. But technology must be prioritized in our Victoria hospitals—especially in our critical care units—to ensure our care teams have the most up-to-date tools to care for their most vulnerable patients.”
Last year, donors to the It’s More than Just a Bed initiative helped fund nine hospital beds for the Emergency Department at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Community donations totalled over $114,000. The Victoria Hospitals Foundation hopes to exceed last year’s total and make an even bigger impact for local healthcare, but they can’t do it alone.
To find out more information or make a donation which will be matched, phone 250-519-1750 or visit: victoriahf.ca/givingtuesday
