This spring, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation is raising $366,000 for urgent upgrades to several pieces of equipment that will help people in our community with cancer and many other critical illnesses. Whether this is a father facing leukemia, a child with life-threatening bleeding, or a grandparent with anemia, our community can help improve the likelihood of a full recovery at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals. The new equipment is in three departments and reflects the patient journey from diagnosis to treatment. The equipment includes: • An Automated Hematology System for Laboratory Diagnostics: this will process 30,000 blood tests a year up to 10 times faster and with significantly more accuracy • An Electrosurgical Unit and High-Resolution Monitors for Endoscopy: these will provide clearer video images and a more exact diagnosis of cancer locations • A Digital Ultrasound for Surgical Services: this will help physicians precisely locate tumours and other abnormalities during surgery Carl Peterson knows firsthand the benefit of an automated hematology system for hospital labs. Carl lives with leukemia. His disease has been closely followed and expertly managed thanks to this advanced lab equipment regularly used to test his blood. Dr. Brian Berry, Division Chief of Hematopathology, has cared for Carl for 28 years. “This equipment is proven to have huge, life-saving benefits for patients like Carl Peterson,” said Berry. “Because advanced laboratory equipment wasn’t available when he was diagnosed, it took time for us to get the precise information we needed. To keep Carl’s medication at the correct levels he had to endure frequent tests including painful procedures that drew bone marrow from his pelvic bone. But today, because of this new equipment, patients like Carl only need a simple blood test in place of these other painful procedures. We can quickly run a patient’s blood sample through our new system and adjust the medication that may not only keep them alive, but like Carl, living the best life possible and with little intervention. The test is fast and precise allowing quick results and peace of mind.” Spring Campaign for Cancer Care >Continued on Page 2 THE LATEST NEWS FROM VHF | SPRING 2016 In Touch Dr. Brian Berry, Division Chief of Hematopathology, in the Laboratory at Royal Jubilee
Transcript
This spring, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation is raising $366,000 for urgent upgrades to several pieces of equipment that will help people in our community with cancer and many other critical illnesses. Whether this is a father facing leukemia, a child with life-threatening bleeding, or a grandparent with anemia, our community can help improve the likelihood of a full recovery at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals.
The new equipment is in three departments and reflects the patient journey from diagnosis to treatment. The equipment includes:
• An Automated Hematology System for Laboratory Diagnostics: this will process 30,000 blood tests a year up to 10 times faster and with significantly more accuracy
• An Electrosurgical Unit and High-Resolution Monitors for Endoscopy: these will provide clearer video images and a more exact diagnosis of cancer locations
• A Digital Ultrasound for Surgical Services: this will help physicians precisely locate tumours and other abnormalities during surgery
Carl Peterson knows firsthand the benefit of an automated hematology system for hospital labs. Carl lives with leukemia. His disease has been closely followed and expertly managed thanks to this advanced lab equipment regularly used to test his blood. Dr. Brian Berry, Division Chief of Hematopathology, has cared for Carl for 28 years.
“This equipment is proven to have huge, life-saving benefits for patients like Carl Peterson,” said Berry. “Because advanced laboratory equipment wasn’t available when he was diagnosed, it took time for us to get the precise information we needed. To keep Carl’s medication at the correct levels he had to endure frequent tests including painful procedures that drew bone marrow from his pelvic bone.
But today, because of this new equipment, patients like Carl only need a simple blood test in place of these other painful procedures. We can quickly run a patient’s blood sample through our new system and adjust the medication that may not only keep them alive, but like Carl, living the best life possible and with little intervention. The test is fast and precise allowing quick results and peace of mind.”
Spring Campaign for Cancer Care
>Continued on Page 2
T H E L A T E S T N E W S F R O M V H F | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6
InTouch
Dr. Brian Berry, Division Chief of Hematopathology, in the Laboratory at Royal Jubilee
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With this new advanced equipment, Dr. Berry and his colleagues will be able to put their expertise to work diagnosing patients and implementing targeted, personalized treatment plans with a much greater speed and accuracy.
“A patient’s lab results will be more exact and arrive up to 10 times faster — because we are doing 30,000 tests a year the impact will be significant! And, this new system gives me digital results. That means late on a Friday night I can check a patient’s results, wherever I am and share the information with emergency doctors to rapidly initiate specific treatment.”
We also need help to raise funds for Endoscopy equipment. Dr. Denis Petrunia, Gastroenterologist with Island Health and the Colonoscopy Lead for the Provincial Cancer Screening Program, explains just how dramatically the new Endoscopy equipment will help his patients. “This new equipment will help nearly 15,000 people every year being diagnosed at Royal Jubilee or Victoria General hospitals. This specialized equipment gives us clearer video images of lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. These high-resolution images guide us as we use the tool to precisely remove the lesions and cauterize the surrounding tissue, removing the cancerous cells. If we can identify and remove cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions in the early stages, patients have a far greater chance of survival and complete recovery.”
In the case of Dr. Petrunia’s patient Betty French, this equipment was vital to the success of her procedure. “During a regular screening, we found a large pre-cancerous lesion in her colon. With her family history of cancer, it was absolutely imperative that we remove
the lesion. A pre-existing medical condition, however, made surgical intervention with full sedation more risky. Thankfully we were able to use an electrosurgical tool to perform minimally invasive surgery without anesthesia. High-resolution monitors allowed the entire medical team, including Betty, to easily see the lesion. In the same short procedure, we used the tool to completely remove it and stop any bleeding. Betty experienced no pain and didn’t require an overnight hospital stay. The new technology makes the procedure more effective, exact and predictable.”
The thousands of people in our community who require surgery every year count on our hospitals to have the best equipment available. This campaign will also raise funds for a Digital Ultrasound for the operating room. This tool will be used to guide surgeons during complex surgeries, including oncology procedures and tumour identification.
You can contribute to Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s campaign to fund critical upgrades to Cancer Care equipment at Victoria General and Royal Jubilee by calling 250-519-1750, mailing to Wilson Block, 1952 Bay Street, Victoria BC, V8R 1J8, or donating online at www.victoriahf.ca.
Continued from cover: Spring Campaign for Cancer Care
Have you thought about what your lasting legacy will be? Your careful planning helps ensure our hospitals can offer the best healthcare to future generations. An estate gift is powerful — it allows you to potentially give more than at any other time in your life. There are many options for planned giving that maximize your tax and financial benefits while making a major impact on care in our hospitals. Do you want to know more? We would be pleased to work with you and your professional advisors to ensure your planned gift meets your needs and has the largest possible impact in our hospitals.
Dr. Denis Petrunia, a Gastroenterologist with Island Health, and former patient Betty French at Victoria General
LEGACY Leave a
of good health
DID YOU KNOW?Our hospitals need more than 190 pieces of new equipment this year. You can choose to support an area of care that is meaningful to you, knowing that it will help someone in your community when they need it most.
AMERICAN FRIENDSThe American Friends of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation is a registered U.S. charity in Washington State created to enable American gifts to our local hospitals. Donations made through American Friends receive an IRS charitable donation receipt.
For more information or to make a donation please contact us at [email protected]
For more information please call Beth Cairns at 250-519-1750 or email [email protected]
Dr. Paul Sobkin with the Interventional Angiography System
Island Health radiologists unite in generosityWhen a group of inspired and dedicated people come together to support a common goal, remarkable change can take place. The members of the Victoria Radiology Consulting group exemplify the spirit of working together to improve healthcare in our community and we want to celebrate their contribution! As part of the Building Care Together campaign to equip the Patient Care Centre, the group made a $100,000 pledge in 2010 to purchase leading-edge equipment. The pledge is now fulfilled and their generosity funded the purchase of five leading-edge bladder scanners for the Patient Care Centre. The group also made a $97,000 gift to the 2004 Together We Care campaign.
Radiologists specialize in diagnosis and treatment of patients through the use of medical imaging technology, such as MRI and CT scans. Their work includes diagnosis of injury and illness in virtually all parts of the body, as well as imaging based interventional procedures.
As doctors, the Radiologists already devote their lives to helping others, but they decided they wanted to do even more. We are so grateful for their contributions!
Your gifts transform care in our hospitalsThank you for giving to our fall campaign for Interventional Radiology. Last fall we asked the community to support two new Interventional Angiography Systems for both of our hospitals. Every contribution to the campaign was matched by a generous donor and we are thrilled to report that we have funded the equipment. The system’s advanced medical imaging capabilities help doctors to deliver more precise treatment with greater accuracy while reducing radiation by 60% compared to the old system. We are so grateful to everyone who made a donation — your gift is already impacting patients and improving care. We are pleased to report that the new system is now up and running at Victoria General. Royal Jubilee’s new system is currently being installed. When we all work together we can make incredible advancements in the care available at our hospitals. Thank you!
The second annual Hockey for Hospitals event on March 5th was a huge success. We teamed up with the Victoria Royals and Marty the Marmot to raise funds for advanced electric stretchers for the Victoria General and Royal Jubilee emergency departments. The stretchers are equipped with advanced safety features and can instantly weigh a patient — this is important because medication is given based on weight and in a trauma situation there is no time to spare.
The Royals won the game against the Vancouver Giants and our community came together to raise an incredible $22,000! Funds were raised through a 50/50 draw, a raffle for a luxury trip to Mexico, the Chuck-a-Puck game and community donations. Thank you to all the community partners and volunteers who helped make the event such a success! We’re already looking forward to next year.
• Bin 4 Burger Lounge• Black Press• Boston Pizza Saanich
• Island Savings • KiSS 103.1• KPMG Chartered Accountants
• L.A. Limousines• Ocean 98.5• The Q 100.3
• Used Victoria• The Victoria Royals• The Zone 91.3
BIG THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERS
Hockey for Hospitals wins big!
POINSETTIAS 4 PATIENTSWe are so grateful to all the members of the Victoria General Hospital Auxiliary for their generous donation of $6,700! Funds were raised through the sale of poinsettias during the holiday season, with all proceeds supporting a new treadmill for Rehabilitation Services at Victoria General Hospital.
VANCOUVER ISLAND RACE SERIES (VIRA)Thank you to all the dedicated Vancouver Island runners who raced in this year’s series of runs all over Vancouver Island. Generous participants donated a combined $900 toward a new treadmill for Rehabilitation Services at Victoria General Hospital.
ADRIENNE’S RESTAURANT & TEA GARDENThank you to Adrienne’s Restaurant & Tea Garden for donating the proceeds from afternoon tea during the months of February and March. Your generous gift of $900 will support Cancer Care and Cardiac Care.
TC10KWe were thrilled to be named one of the charity partners of this world-famous race. Thank you to all the runners and organizers for raising more than $3,000 for new cardiac monitors for our hospitals’ emergency departments.
40711019Wilson Block
1952 Bay StreetVictoria BC V8R 1J8Phone: 250 519-1750
We are committed to protecting your privacy. In accordance with the BC Personal Information Protection Act, we only retain information regarding your gift history and relationship with us. For complete information on our privacy policy, visit www.victoriahf.ca or call 250-519-1750.
The Foundation does not sell, trade, or rent its donor information. Thank you once again for your contribution to our hospitals.
If you received this newsletter in error or know someone who would like a copy,
UPLANDS HEART TOURNAMENTS, JULY 20 & 24This summer the annual Uplands Golf Club Heart Tournaments are back for the 39th year! The men’s and women’s tournaments will once again support Heart Health at Royal Jubilee Hospital— this year’s event will fund a recording system for the Electrophysiology (EP) Lab at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Over the years this much-loved event has raised more than $2.3 million! Anyone can register to play — all non-members are welcome! For more information, visit ugcheart.com.
CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC, SEPT. 15This popular annual golf tournament presented by Hewlett-Packard in support of Pediatrics will once again be held at the prestigious Royal Colwood Golf Club. Proceeds from this year’s tournament will go toward a bladder scanner for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Since it began nearly 20 years ago, the tournament has raised more than $627,000 for our hospital’s tiniest patients. For more information, visit hospitalcharitygolf.com
V I C T O R I A ’ S
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The annual black-tie gala in support of our hospitals will take place on November 19 at the Fairmont Empress. To reserve your tickets to this elegant event call 250-519-1750 or email [email protected].
