TB Vets & Community Contributes $63,000 for Transport Ventilator & Stretcher

Golden, BC…    In May of this year the Golden Hospital struck a committee made up of Interior Health Managers, local physicians and nurses with a dream to raise $43,000 through a community supportive fundraising effort to buy a new transport ventilator for the rural hospital.

What has happened since then is literally magical with the community rising to the occasion in fundraising over $20,000 for the cause.   Donations poured in from local events and donors who wished to share their gratitude, honour a loved one, and those who simply wanted to get behind their hospital.

In addition help from East Kootenay Foundation for Health (EKFH) provided a link to the regional health foundation’s ability to approach other granting bodies for funding consideration.

One of those grant requests has turned into a most miraculous moment.  Quoting right from a page on their website “Most people take breathing for granted… consider a donation today” are the very words and action taken by TB Vets with an incredible gift of $43,000 awarded to EKFH for the Golden Hospital.  For seventy years the mission of TB Vets has been and will continue to be helping British Columbians with respiratory illness lead healthy and productive lives.

With the community’s generosity and the dedication of TB Vets an even bigger dream has been realized for Golden.  The combination of all the fundraising allows the hospital to purchase both the transport ventilator as originally planned and also a trauma stretcher that will accompany the unit.

TB Vets Announcement
Photo details: L-R: Janice LaRoy (RN), Johanna Evison (Site Manager, Golden) celebrate a defining moment with EKFH’s Donna Grainger (Executive Director) and Patricia Whalen (Assistant Executive Director).

“There are moments in health care that are impacted by the generosity of people.   Having our community and the TB Vets get behind this project is one of those moments and is truly a remarkable outcome for our hospital,” says Deborah Austin, Acute Health Services Administrator for Golden/Invermere.

Dr. Kirk McCarroll will be the guest speaker and represent the Golden Hospital and EKFH at the upcoming TB Vets BreatheBC Grants Awards evening on September 30 in Vancouver.    To learn more about the extensive work of the TB Vets Charitable Foundation visit   http://www.tbvets.org.

On behalf of all of those involved with the Golden Transport Ventilator project ~ thank you, we couldn’t do it without you.

EKFH’s mission is to provide funding to the East Kootenay Regional Hospital and other community facilities in complementing the health care needs of the region.  Please like us on Facebook and visit regional and community updates on our website www.ekfh.ca.

Questions?  Contact Donna Grainger, Executive Director at 1-877-489-6481 or by email:  [email protected].