BRHC Foundation gets generous holiday donations

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This article was published 31/12/2024 (261 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Regional Health Centre Foundation is continuing to receive generous donations during the holidays, helping the non-profit purchase much-needed medical equipment for the Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC).

“Our fundraising goal is essentially the value of the equipment,” said Jessica Saler, the foundation’s communications and development co-ordinator.

The BRHC Foundation was formed in 1980 and is a non-profit, volunteer-driven charity that is independent from Prairie Mountain Health, and was created to raise funds for the hospital.

Each year, the hospital gives the foundation a wish list of medical equipment, which sets in motion the fundraising for that year, Saler said.

The annual campaigns run by the foundation include a gala, a pancake breakfast in the fall, and a staff 50/50 lottery. The WestJet Gift of Flight raffle generates funds that are directed to the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units.

Additionally, there is the Tree of Lights Campaign. Three Christmas trees have been set up in the hospital’s atrium, and for a minimum $15 donation, the BRHC Foundation will provide a tree ornament tag that people can personalize to remember a loved one.

The trees will be in the atrium until Jan. 7 in a bid to also include patrons who celebrate Ukrainian Christmas, said Saler.

“The Tree of Lights and the pancake breakfast were fundraising for an $8,000 piece of equipment for the ICU (intensive care unit), called a D-Blade,” Saler said, adding, “And the other is a Microdebrider Shaver for the OR (Operating Room), at a little more than $16,000. So, we want to be able to purchase them with the donations.”

An M5 Microdebrider Shaver is a powered hand piece for ear, nose and throat surgery. It helps improve functionality and precision when removing soft or hard tissue or bone, according to the website medtronic.com, which features research, design and the sale of health-related instruments.

A D-Blade is used when someone needs to be intubated and is especially helpful when a patient’s mouth is restricted. The blade is slim and tapered, according to the National Library of Medicine, which is a website that provides access to scientific literature.

Past pieces of medical equipment that the foundation has been able to purchase for the hospital include a cataract surgical tray, stretchers, blood pressure machines, a type of ventilator that helps patients who are having trouble breathing on their own, pressure mattresses designed to provide support for the head and body, furniture for the family room on the maternity ward, and furniture for patients and family on the third-floor surgical unit.

“Many people may not realize that the piece of equipment that the staff are using to help you, or the bed you’re on, whatever it might be — could potentially be from our community donating,” Saler pointed out.

Saler added that she and her team are still crunching the numbers and will wait until the completion of the Tree of Lights campaign to release how much has been raised in 2024.

But she confirmed that the BRHC Foundation raised $1,497,544.41 for equipment and programs during the 2023–24 fiscal year.

And $999,453 was raised this year, between April 1 and the end of November.

Even with the successful fundraising events, including the pancake breakfast that was held Dec. 6, which “had a really great turnout — we had over 400 tickets for that one,” Saler said, there was some uncertainty posed by the month-long strike by Canada Post employees that ended on Dec. 17.

“We weren’t sure how many donations were in the mail or not, but now that the strike is over, we’re getting a big pour-in of donations through the mail, which was a relief and exciting to see,” added Saler.

“It definitely means a lot to see that the hospital is a place where people want to give back to. And it brings us a lot of pride as a team, that we can help make it even better to support the staff and patients whenever we can.”

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