The Victoria Hospitals Foundation has reached the halfway point of its $10-million Emerge Stronger fundraising campaign.
The campaign, now in its local care phase, is helping fund and supply over 200 pieces of medical equipment to support care teams and advance initiatives that keep patients close to home. Since October 2021 the organization has raised more than $5 million in support of local Victoria hospitals.
According to Island Health urologist Dr. Nathan Hoag, lasting effects from the COVID-19 pandemic have put a lot of stress on the local health care system – leaving hospitals without the necessary funds to modernize or replace critical equipment.
“I think our health system is feeling a lot of stress, there’s no secret there,” he told Black Press Media during a campaign announcement Thursday (July 28) at Royal Jubilee Hospital. “These community donations really allow us to keep up with technology and have the right equipment and resources to ensure everyone receives treatment.”
Over 40 per cent of the medical devices and equipment at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals is funded by donors.
“No one could have anticipated the impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on our healthcare system, and how tirelessly our caregivers continue to work to ensure hospital care remains excellent here in Victoria – care our entire Island relies on,” foundation CEO Avery Brohman stated. “We heard first-hand that new and replacement equipment was the best way we could support the growing needs in our hospitals.”
To date, the campaign has helped the hospitals purchase such priority equipment as new breast imaging software designed to improve the detection of breast cancer, a state-of-the-art retinal laser for surgical treatment, an O-arm imaging system and new ureteroscopes for treating kidney stones.
Contributions to the Emerge Stronger campaign can be made online by visiting victoriahf.ca/stronger, or by calling 250-519-1750.
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austin.westphal@saanichnews.com
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