Every year, caregivers at Victoria General Hospital (VGH) deliver over 3,000 babies and care for more than 2,000 kids, supporting, celebrating, and reassuring thousands of families. 98% of pediatric cases on Vancouver Island can be treated right here at VGH, without having to go to the mainland. Our children receive exceptional, specialized care right here at home.
Sometimes, tiny patients are sick and fragile. When that happens, sophisticated technology enables our maternity and pediatrics teams to carry out delicate and highly specialized treatments. When a child is ill or injured, we do everything we can to help them get well again. Having state-of-the-art equipment helps our most vulnerable patients have the best possible chance at not just surviving, but thriving.
One in six newborns at VGH depends on the NICU
Of the 3,000 babies born annually at Victoria General Hospital, one in six spends time in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). These include premature infants and those experiencing complications from cardiac, respiratory, ophthalmological, or auditory issues. With the help of neonatal equipment, our teams perform life-saving work every day.
One in eight children treated at VGH spends time in the PICU every year
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) provides intensive care for children, with one-to-one monitoring. Patients include children 0-17 years of age with severe cardiac and respiratory complications, infections, or those involved with tragic accidents. Every year, 250 children spend time in the PICU.
At the forefront of newborn and child care
Nothing is quite as terrifying as illness in a newborn or child. The susceptibility of children to infections and disease means they need special attention and support.
Thankfully, Victoria General Hospital — the referral centre for maternity and pediatrics on Vancouver Island — is at the forefront of newborn and child care. Expertise includes perinatal services, maternity care, a general pediatrics unit, one of BC’s four high-level neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and one of BC’s two pediatric intensive care units (PICU).
It takes teamwork and a team of many specialized and skilled professionals to deliver the best care for our littlest patients.
Teams of pediatric specialists, including obstetricians, neonatologists, surgeons, nurses, midwives, therapists and more, work together to provide coordinated care for these children. Their specialized training ensures care is tailored to a child’s needs. To help the anxiety involved in a hospital experience, our care teams are available to every child and family before, during and after hospitalization. The care team integrates family as partners to provide the best experience possible for all involved.
In recent years, we have seen dramatic advances in neonatal technologies and pediatric tools. Donations to this $1.8 million campaign will fund 40 patient monitors identified as a critical need for life-saving care in the NICU and PICU at VGH, the referral centre for maternity and pediatrics on Vancouver Island, where vital signs like heart rate, breathing and blood pressure are used for diagnosis and monitoring in 100% of cases.
Help us raise $1.8 million to fund 40 pieces of advanced equipment that will support pediatric care right here at home.
The equipment
we’re funding
Learn more about the pieces of equipment
we are funding and what you can do to help.
Every dollar
can make a difference
A gift to this campaign will mean better-informed,
second-by-second decisions, and will make a critical
difference to care teams and the patients they serve.
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