A CELEBRATION OF GIVING

At Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, we are privileged every day to witness donors stepping up to support RCH and their communities through their gifts. Every dollar matters, and we are so grateful to the thousands of donors, large and small, who recognize the great work of our healthcare teams in providing some of the very best patient care in the province. We are one of British Columbia’s busiest hospitals, serving a population of close to two million people. As the regional referral hospital for cardiac, trauma, neurosciences, high-risk maternity and neonatal intensive care, no other hospital in the province provides all of these services, at this level of care, on one site. We provide the highest level of care to the most critically ill and injured from throughout the province. But we can’t do this without your help. We are pleased to share just a few of the thousands of donor stories of support, and thank each and every one of our donors for their continued commitment!

RCH CARDIAC PHYSICIANS GIVE #WITHHEART

Nationally, February marks Heart Month, an opportunity to bring awareness to one of the leading causes of death in Canada. In recent years, the Foundation has marked February through a Give #WithHeart social media campaign, providing donors an opportunity to recognize RCH’s role in cardiac care. Our world-class medical teams perform more open-heart surgeries and treat more emergency heart attacks than any other hospital in BC. For this reason, RCH is often considered the region’s emergency room for the heart.

In 2022, physicians from Royal Columbian’s Department of Cardiac Services stepped forward to match $50,000 in gifts during Give #WithHeart. Matching campaigns resonate strongly with our donors, and partnerships with our physicians like this one contribute significantly to the success of our efforts. A special thank you to Dr. Amin Aminbakhsh for his leadership in bringing the Department of Cardiac Services together.

Trauma Care Receives A Boost From Windsor Plywood Foundation

Trauma physicians refer to the first hour after a traumatic injury as the ‘golden hour’ — they are critical minutes for medical and surgical intervention. When a traumatic incident occurs, the clock starts to tick. Every moment counts — and life hangs in the balance. The RCH Emergency Department, one of the most highly utilized in the province with more than 75,000 visits a year, is the entry point to trauma care. The new Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower, the crown jewel of the multi-phase redevelopment project currently under construction, will see significant upgrades and additions for trauma and emergency services. These include two trauma bays with two beds each, and an imaging unit directly in the ER – the Jack Gin Emergency & Trauma Imaging Centre (GinETIC 1) – to speed up access to diagnostic procedures. It will also have operating rooms purpose-built and always available to trauma patients.

In October 2022, representatives of Windsor Plywood, which has been in business for over 50 years in our communities, joined staff and physicians at RCH to announce a gift of $1 million to support the trauma bays in the new Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower. Cathy Brown, Executive Director of Windsor Plywood Foundation, spoke at the event of her family’s commitment to the communities in which they live and operate their business, and to the importance of trauma care within our region, and our province.

DAVID AND PAT COUSINS RECOGNIZE A LIFE-SAVING STAR

In October 2022, after playing a game of curling, David Cousins started to feel dizzy and as if he was losing consciousness. He told his spouse, Pat, he needed to be rushed to the Emergency Department. Originally taken to Eagle Ridge Hospital, he was then transferred to the Cath Lab at Royal Columbian Hospital to receive specialized care. David was in a critical state and had to be induced into a medical coma. His doctors gave him a less than 10% chance of survival.

Nurse Breanne Robson, a Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU) Patient Care Coordinator at RCH, who was on the ward and knew how dire his situation was, went above and beyond, dedicated to giving David, and his family, the best hope for his survival. David ended up spending a total of 9 days in CSICU and, against all odds, miraculously made it out alive.

David gifted $5,000 towards CSICU for saving his life and providing exceptional patient care, not only to him, but to his family who were by his side during his entire stay. Additionally, touched by the selfless devotion and dedication to her patients, he made a STAR donation in honour of Nurse Breanne. He also shared that the day he left RCH, Breanne told him patients like him who fight for their life and make it out of the hospital are why she does what she does. David was able to personally deliver the STAR recognition to Nurse Breanne just eight weeks after his discharge. He, along with Pat, got the opportunity to visit the CSICU to see firsthand where he received care, and to thank all the staff in the department for saving his life.

The Wilson Family Honours The Memory Of A Daughter And Sister

On December 30th, 2022, the Wilson Family — Tanya, Joel, Charlotte and Isabella — visited the Foundation to make a gift towards the Brooklyn’s Wish Fund in loving memory of their daughter and sister, Brooklyn. This latest gift was a continuation of

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