A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

What can be said about the past year that hasn’t already been said?

 

The pandemic has been tough for all; including those in the communities served by Osler, which remain some of the hardest hit areas. In March 2020, Osler Foundation launched the Health Care Heroes campaign to help meet the urgent need for equipment and PPE to help fight COVID-19. In those early days of the novel coronavirus, the number of infections was still relatively low in our province and communities, but across Osler, physicians and staff at all levels had already mobilized to face the challenges of the impending pandemic head on. There was no way for us to foresee where we would be one year later.

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While our physicians, staff and volunteers have the skills, compassion and determination to deliver exceptional patient care through the pandemic and beyond, even heroes need the right tools for the job.  For health care workers, this means essential, state-of-the-art equipment like ventilators and vital signs monitors, as well as items we may take for granted, like wheelchairs and stretchers. One new wheelchair costs $760; a stretcher, $5,500.

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Thanks to more than 8,000 generous donations from the community, as well as from staff, physicians and volunteers at Osler, the Health Care Heroes campaign surpassed the original $5 million target, raising $5.2 million to purchase essential, life-saving equipment, such as:

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• Electric beds to provide a safe, comfortable place for patients to rest and heal – Cost per unit: $8,300;

• Vital signs monitors to accurately evaluate a patient’s health – Cost per unit: $5,300;

• Ventilators to pump oxygen into the body of patients who need help to breathe – Cost per unit: $58,000.

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In addition to generous donations to help purchase equipment, the community showed support by providing nourishment to help fuel our heroes in their work: more than 18,000 meals were donated last year! And when we put out a call for donations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), donors once again stepped up, providing 190,300 pairs of gloves, 4,500 gowns, 296,800 masks and 12,900 goggles and face shields.

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Throughout the pandemic, life-saving care continued to be delivered across Osler, including dialysis, emergency care and rehabilitation. In some cases, pandemic restrictions provided our Health Care Heroes with opportunities to go beyond and find innovative new ways to deliver patient care, such as mental health services, which were moved online where possible to ensure critical support was available at a particularly challenging time for all of us.

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Thanks to the support of our community, Osler hospitals continue to be here for you. Thank you for being here for us.

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With gratitude,