New X-ray equipment among list of needs
Prince County Hospital Foundation launches Vital Signs campaign
The Prince County Hospital Foundation is launching its Vital Signs Appeal for 2018, and this year’s list of new and replacement medical equipment will cost $1,529,817. There are important pieces needed in nearly every unit at the hospital, including the replacement of digital radiography equipment in the main X-ray room at PCH.
In the event of an emergency, digital radiography (X-ray) might be considered the gateway to further care in any hospital, noted Bevan Woodacre, communications officer for the PCH Foundation.
“It can help to determine next steps when time matters most and it is certainly among the most valuable assets at the PCH.”
An estimated 60 to 80 patients are imaged daily using digital radiography at PCH and during busy times as high as 100 patients come through the department. The room was the first of its kind when PCH opened in 2004 and it has been a vital function of the hospital ever since, said Woodacre. Fourteen years later, the X-ray machine and the additional equipment in the room have reached the end of their lifecycle. The cost to replace the equipment will be $550,000, a considerable portion of the overall campaign in 2018.
Sharon and Bernard Handrahan know firsthand how important it is to have a fully equipped hospital in the event of an emergency. This past winter they were in a car accident and the Christophers Cross couple was rushed to the
PCH emergency department. Through digital radiography and numerous other tests, it
was a determined Sharon had several fractured ribs, as well as a collapsed lung and would need emergency surgery.
“It was amazing,” Sharon said. “Before I knew it, they had diagnosed me.
“You get to see them all work and it’s a well-oiled machine. They all have their jobs and they’re so good.”
Like the Handrahans, people from all across P.E.I. visit PCH each day for acute medical care. That care is possible because donors help to ensure that patients at PCH have access to the best medical equipment available when they need it most, added Woodacre. Those wishing to donate to the PCH Foundation can do so securely online at pchcare. com, where you can also read the Handrahans’ full story. Gifts can also be made in person at the PCH Foundation office in the hospital lobby.