Download PDF - Whatsupmuskoka.com

South Muskoka has $5 million wish list
About $5 million dollars of equipment is needed by the
South Muskoka Memorial Hospital and the community is
stepping forward to help out.
Items like a $500,000 urological imagery table system
and two $250,000 ultrasound and imaging machines are
two priorities to enable the hospital to better serve the community.
“Approximately 40 per cent of surgical volumes at the
hospital are urological, so this is an important piece of
equipment,” says Colin Miller, executive director of the
South Muskoka Hospital Foundation.
He adds that one quarter of all the urological procedures
in North Simcoe Muskoka take place at the South Muskoka
Memorial Hospital. The new table is badly needed, as Miller
says packing tape is holding parts of it together.
The new ultrasound equipment needed is used for everything
from cancer and pregnancy to bladder, eyes, muscles
and even prostate. Ultrasound allows imaging of tissue
without risk of radiation associated with other traditional
imagery.
Miller says the community is very supportive with about
3,000 donors this year.
“Overall, most of our fundraising programs reached or
exceeded last year’s revenue goal,” he says.
The foundation is a charitable organization that fundraises
to supply all of the equipment and other hospital needs
not supplied by hospital funding.
“The foundation and the hospital auxiliary are really the
only sources of funding for new equipment for hospitals,” he
says.
At year end, June 31, 2010, the foundation raised
$1,688,432. This is about $800,000 less than last year’s
record breaking $2.49 million raised.
“The big difference was gifts received through
bequests,” explains Miller. In 2009 bequests to the South
Muskoka Hospital foundation were almost $1.3 million but
in 2010 they were just $550,000.
“We have no way of influencing or controlling the money
that comes in through bequests,” says Miller, who explains
many people have arranged donations to go to the hospital
foundation upon their death.
Miller is frustrated by rumours circulating that the hospital
is closing and says while the hospital is working with its
financial situation, it is also making plans for the future to
take care of patients for many years to come.
“People are welcome to call with concerns,” he says.
“Nobody likes to see programs reduce in size but our health
care system is changing.”
Miller explains that in the last 20 years, the number of
acute care hospital beds in Ontario has reduced from about
50,000 to 30,000, but that is because most surgeries are
now day surgeries.
Also on the hospital wish list are new beds at $4,500
each. “Provincial standards have changed for beds so we
need to upgrade a number of beds,” says Miller.
Four bedside monitors at $30,000 each are also needed.
A new dual-energy bone densitometer costs over
$100,000 and is needed to help check the people
Repairs to the building are also something that the foundation
assists with.
“The building was built in the 1960s and extensive roof
repairs, of about $800,000, are needed,” says Miller. “It is
not always about medical equipment, but also the supporting
infrastructure.”
Also on the list are a plate warming system, disposable
bed pan system, patient pain control pumps and an auto
dispensing unit for the pharmacy.
Miller explains that a person making a donation can
request exactly where the money is to be spent.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure the
money goes where they donor wants it to go,” he says.
Of course, many of the pieces of equipment are so
expensive that funds are pooled from several donors to purchase
the big ticket items.
Miller says it is easier to get funding for some items than
others. “People get more excited about a something like a
defibrillator. You slap it on someone’s chest and bring them
back from the brink of death,” he says, adding that once
you’ve been saved by a defibrillator, you don’t think twice
about purchasing one for the hospital. “But we still need the
plate warmer. Patients are not going to get better without
meals.”
Money for the hospital comes from different areas. “It is
not just the very wealthy that support our hospital,” he says.
The memorial program raised about $90,000 last year.
“To honour someone who has died, you can make a donation
to the foundation,” he says. Some people are also
doing that to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.
This year’s mail-out campaign to former hospital patients
and previous donors started in-mid March and by the end of
June had received a little over 600 donations totalling
$95,000. “This hospital is very well supported by the community,”
he says.
Of course, the hospital foundation still needs more
money to purchase equipment needed by the hospital.
“Unfortunately, people don’t really think about their hospital
until they are thrown into a crisis situation,” he says.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, the necessary equipment
is there to help them.
Township of Muskoka Lakes
RE-ELECT
LIZ
DENYAR
Councillor
Ward B
www.lizdenyar.com
ELECT
TERRY
PILGER
FOR
MAYOR
FOR MEANINGFUL CHANGE
Please view my website www.terrypilger.com for updated information
Email me at terry@terrypilger.com or call 687-4575
EXPERIENCE, ABILITY, VISION & LEADERSHIP
www.TerryPilger.com
www.whatsupmuskoka.com October 2010 9