Thanks to You, Our Donors, We’re Improving Healthcare for All Northwestern Ontario

Our donors are at the heart of everything the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation is able to accomplish. Every advance in healthcare in the last 20 years is a direct result of your generosity. You are the real heroes, generously giving the funds that make it happen.

On this page you’ll read about four new pieces of equipment that are changing lives for patients across Northwestern Ontario. Each helps the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre provide care and treatment right here in our region.

That means there are fewer patients travelling thousands of kilometres to Toronto or elsewhere and back for care. It also means faster critical care for patients who need it. As you’ll read, in some cases it means providing care right here in Thunder Bay that isn’t available anywhere else in the province.

All thanks to you!

Today, on Thank You Thursday, I want to personally thank everyone who has donated to makes lives better for patients at our Hospital. That includes event participants, volunteers, and anyone who has given money or time to help make closer-to-home healthcare a reality in Northwestern Ontario. You are the heroes of successful healthcare stories every day. Thank you!

Together, for better.

Glenn Craig
President & CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation

Thank You Donors – For the Healthcare You Bring to Northwestern Ontario!

Thanks to you, our generous donors, we’re getting faster, safer, and better care at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre all the time.

Take for example our 24/7 vascular surgery services. It wasn’t that long ago that amputation rates in Northwestern Ontario were three times higher than the provincial average. Many amputations were due to the fact that we didn’t have the right surgical services here to save the limb. Emergency situations with deep or crushing vascular injuries are also dangerous for patients. Every moment counts for patients who need the specialty services of a vascular surgeon.

Thanks to your donations, you are literally saving life and limb. Today, the growing vascular program at our Hospital can handle 80% of all vascular surgeries, which means less travel, faster care, and better outcomes for our patients. That number will be closer to 100% once we have full cardiovascular surgery services with your support of the Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign.

And, thanks to you, we are the only site in Ontario to have the new MOSES laser for kidney stone removal. This equipment is minimally invasive, making it a safer surgical option with faster recovery time. The cutting-edge system also keeps better control of the kidney stone fragments to ensure the whole stone is removed. The MOSES laser will be working double duty as another treatment option for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, which causes an enlarged prostate.

You have also helped critical care patients in our ICU. Portable ultrasound units have been called the “stethoscope of the 21st century”. The multipurpose device can image parts of the body for safer assessments without the patient ever having to leave the ICU. Ultrasound can also provide image-guided treatments such as directing needles for greater precision while draining fluid build-up.

And did you know that you give care for patients from the moment they are born? Sometimes newborns who undergo assessments at birth need more protection than an infant warmer can provide. Your donations helped Labour and Delivery purchase specialized equipment with some of the same features of an incubator. That means baby is warmer, more comfortable, and better protected.

You, our donors, should be proud of all you’ve done so far. Thanks to you, patients in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario are receiving more and more world-class treatments right here. That means less travel, better care, and more options.

To learn more about how your donations are helping patients every day at our Hospital, keep an eye on this Health Page in the Chronicle-Journal every Saturday. You can also read stories online at: www.healthsciencesfoundation.ca/latest-news

Thank you for all you give!