|
Thursday, January 8, 2009
|
|
|
|
Temp:
|
-13°C
|
|
Feels like:
|
-13°C
|
|
Humidity:
|
N/A%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Festival of Trees donors give $100,000 for medical device |
|
|
Written by BERNICE TRICK
Citizen staff
|
|
Monday, 24 November 2008 |
Immaculate Conception School choir preforms Monday afternoon at the Festival of Trees. (Citizen photo by Brent BraatenImmaculate Conception School choir preforms Monday afternoon at the Festival of Trees. )
David Wharrie, executive director of Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation, explained how it all came about at the annual Festival of Trees auction.
"During the auction, we told those attending about our need for a scope guide to assist medical personnel during colonoscopies (examination of the bowel). It's a special monitor to assist in checking out the colon," said Wharrie.
"We started with no funds, and by the end of the evening, we had cash and pledges totalling $100,000, which is the cost of the scope guide," Wharrie said.
The scope guide will make colon examinations more comfortable, safer, quicker and more efficient since everything in the bowel can be seen.
"It will also be a great education tool for our training doctors." said Wharrie, who expects the new equipment could be in use at PGRH within a year.
Dr. Paul Winwood, a specialist in gastroenterology, said he's very excited about the new equipment which is rare across the entire province.
He said the scope guide "will improve the quality of procedures in both comfort and safety of the patients, and "improve the completeness of the procedure."
He explained when an examination is being done on a 10 to 15-foot colon, "there are a lot of twists and loops to run into."
"The scope guide shows how to undo those loops and prevents the risk of damage to the bowel," said Winwood, who recently came here from the United Kingdom because the Northern Medical Program attracted him. He added he was "overwhelmed" by the generosity of the community that donated the funds to purchase the equipment.
The $100,000 collected at the Festival of Trees for the scope guide is separate from the $59,500 raised for SNHCF during the auction of eight decorated trees. The highest bid of $17,000 for the Northern Exposure tree was made by Bruno Lindenblatt of Linden Fabricating, who also was the high bidder of $7,000 for Shooting Fore the Goal tree. And when all was said and done, Lindenblatt donated his trees to area hospitals.
Despite unsettling economic times, the auction gala was a sell out and funds raised matched those of the past few years with all funds going to SNHCF.
The festival at the Civic Centre continues all week with admission available at the door. Cost is $5 or $8 for a week-long pass for adults; $3 or $5 for a pass for seniors and students and $10 or $15 for a pass for families. The festival is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 24 November 2008 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 179 guests and 7 members online
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
