FALL 2019 NEWSLETTER |
ISSUE 14
MSHF.ON.CA
Your support leads to new hope for people with back pain One morning during the winter of 2018, Maxine Rachlis got out of bed just like she does every day. This time, she felt pain radiating down her left leg. Maxine thought the pain would go away. Instead it got worse. She tried medication, chiropractic treatment, even a cortisone injection. Nothing worked and the 70-year-old was starting to feel desperate. “The pain was like nothing I’d ever felt in my life,” Maxine admits. “It didn’t matter if I stood, walked or sat. I was in debilitating pain every moment of the day.” Maxine had two MRIs and her doctor sent the reports to several surgeons. Nobody thought Maxine was a candidate for back surgery and she continued to suffer. “It got to the point where I was confined to my bed,” says Maxine. “My family was worried about depression but I believed I would someday get the help I needed.” That help finally came when Maxine’s sister told her about a new Rapid Access Clinic for Low
Maxine Rachlis enjoying the outdoors, pain free
Back Pain at Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH). A week later, Maxine had an appointment for an assessment with Wesley Wong, physiotherapist and practice leader for the Clinic. “Wesley took the time to figure out what was going on. He reviewed the images from the MRI and showed me the huge herniation on my disc. Wesley told me surgery was the best way to fix it,” says Maxine. “That’s when I knew I was going to be okay.”
Thanks to generous supporters like you, Maxine was able to find the care she urgently needed, close to home at MSH. Your support helps equip our hospital with state-of-the-art technology and enables innovative programs like our Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain. We’re proud to be one of the first community hospitals in Ontario to offer this program. The Clinic provides education and evidence-based
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self-management plans designed to help ease chronic low back pain. And patients have access to professionals like Wesley to determine if they need surgery.
“That night, after my surgery, I got out of my hospital bed. And for the first time in a year, I felt no pain. It was like magic,” says Maxine. “Dr. Koo and the team at Markham Stouffville Hospital gave me my life back.”
Within a month of her assessment at our Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain, Dr. Kevin Koo, orthopaedic surgeon at MSH, operated on Maxine’s spine.
With your help, we can do the same for others in our community suffering from debilitating back pain. Your gift will help buy vital equipment like
Your support continued...
A brief conversation with Wesley Wong: Practice Leader for our new Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain Q: Can
you tell supporters a little about your background?
A: I began my career as a physical Wesley Wong & Maxine therapist and coordinator of sports medicine before receiving my certification as an Advanced Clinician Practitioner in Arthritis Care from the University of Toronto. When I began working at MSH, it allowed me to build relationships with surgeons and other key clinicians which provided me the opportunity to become the Practice Leader for the Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain. Q: Why are you proud to work in the Rapid
Access Clinic for Low Back Pain at MSH?
2 YOUR GIVING IN ACTION
the Bariatric Table Extension and the Ultrasound Machine for Anaesthesia that are urgently needed right now. “MSH needs the generosity of our community to buy equipment for the Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain and the Operating Room,” says Maxine. “It’s the only way caregivers like Wesley and Dr. Koo can give us the best quality of treatment possible.”
A: I’ve looked after patients with back problems for years and have seen a lot of variation on how they’re treated. The Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain helps to clarify the type of back problem a patient is having and then provides a more targeted treatment, including surgery if necessary. It addresses a lot of the issues that have made treating back problems challenging. Q: Why is the Rapid Access Clinic for Low
Back Pain so important for our community?
A: If not managed early, back problems can become chronic and difficult to treat. This Clinic provides timely access to specially trained clinicians. Patients are typically seen within four weeks of referral and have access to the care and the resources they need close to home. Q: Why is donor support so important? A: The Rapid Access Clinic for Low Back Pain is
part of MSH’s vision of developing an orthopaedic centre of excellence – where clinicians and surgeons work closely together. Donor funding will help with the development and equipment costs to build this important centre.
Q: What message would you like to send
to donors?
A: It’s thanks to your support that we’re able to develop new and improved ways of looking after patients.
Donor Profile
Yash and Prem Kapur:
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Supporting MSH is like supporting your family
The Village Grocer - Giving Thanks
donors and make thoughtful donations throughout the year. “We have this world-class hospital in Markham and it’s doing so much for our community – our family,” says Yash. “We’ve lived here for 20 years and we feel it’s our obligation to give back.” Yash and Prem Kapur
Yash and Prem Kapur believe in supporting their community, much the same way as they’re committed to supporting their kids and grandkids. “Why should our definition of family be restricted to our children and grandchildren,” says Yash. “Our community is our family at large.” As a result, Yash and Prem have found many ways to support MSH – their community hospital. They’re loyal volunteers, generous legacy
The Kapurs also understand that MSH depends on the kind support of donors to take the best care of growing families. “When our son, Rishi, was a member of MSH’s Board of Directors, he would tell us how expensive equipment is, how much it costs to help even one patient,” Prem explains. And so, the Kapurs made the decision to give to MSH as a family. They hope other families will feel inspired to give too. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to make an impact,” says Yash. “Ordinary people can make a difference too.”
We have this world-class hospital in Markham and it’s doing so much for our community – our family. —Yash
October 19, 2019
Get your shopping list ready as The Village Grocer donates 100 per cent of its entire day’s sales to support MSH!
Coop’s Classics Dance Party for MSH November 1, 2019 Le Parc Dining & Banquet Save the date for a night of tricks and treats with 98.1 CHFI’s Mike Cooper and special guest, Canadian radio icon Erin Davis.
The Final Angus Glen Fall Race Weekend November 2-3, 2019 Angus Glen Golf Club This is your final chance to race your way through the scenic golf course! Register online: angusglenrunningseries.com
For a full list of events benefiting MSH, visit mshf.on.ca YOUR GIVING IN ACTION
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Because of You Interventional Radiology (IR) expansion is under way From acute trauma cases to surgical, palliative and cancer care, our number of IR procedures has quadrupled in recent years. Meeting the growing demand for less invasive treatment options requires additional cutting-edge technology. Thanks to generous donor support the construction of a new, much-needed IR Suite is now under way.
IR Suite
Alongside Midwifery Unit (AMU) celebrates 1st anniversary
100th baby born in AMU
Canada’s first AMU opened in July 2018, thanks to donors like you. Two babies were born on that first day, and then ten days later, the first water birth happened. Over 500 newborns made their way into the world here during the first year – exceeding expectations. Our AMU is truly a centre of excellence for normal birth helping to “build a community one birth at a time.” And it’s because of the visionary leadership of Carol Cameron, AMU Executive Director, our hospital leaders and our generous community.
MSHF19005-5
Emergency Green Zone Expansion Thanks to generous donor support, the Green Zone at MSH is expanded. With its separate dedicated space and six additional treatment rooms, congestion and wait times have been reduced. And for the 30 per cent of MSH’s Emergency patients who arrive with less complex conditions, this means they will be able to go home faster.
nks to you
Here we grow again – tha
Give a gift today by visiting mshf.on.ca 379 Church Street, Suite 303, Markham, Ontario L6B 0T1 Tel: 905-472-7059 | mshf.on.ca Charitable Registration No. 13064 3620 RR0001
@MSHospital