Donor Guy Mercier (far left)shares the ribbon cutting experience with others, including Health Minister Terry Lake (centre) and Dr. Anders Ganstal (far right) in the new emergency trauma centre.

(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops resident is making sure Royal Inland Hospital has the equipment it needs to help doctors and nurses save lives in the emergency room.

Guy Mercier made the $130,000 donation through the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation, which paid for the other $437,000 required to complete the project. At a conference Friday afternoon, Mercier delivered a $60,000 cheque to pay for the remainder of his contribution.

The project includes a pair of ceiling-mounted medical booms. The booms are part of a recently-completed renovation to the RIH Emergency Department’s trauma room, which has two bays for treating critically ill or trauma patients.

“The RIH Foundation is extremely fortunate to have caring and savvy donors who understand that only through strong and meaningful partnerships can we accomplish all that we set out to do,” RIH Foundation CEO Heidi Coleman says. “Guy Mercier is the embodiment of such a donor. His generous donation to fund the medical booms is going to change the way the trauma doctors deliver their excellent care." 

The foundation also donated $160,000 for two new ultrasound machines and two glidescopes, which will be mounted to the booms. Previously, equipment was anchored to a floor column at the head of each bed.

Anders Ganstal, an emergency room doctor, says the previous glidescopes from the room will be used for other emergency procedures. He adds the improvements to the room will assist in dealing with multiple casualties at once, drawing on last years' bus rollover near Merritt as an example.

"Before we used to be tripping over lines. (The improvements) will help provide access to diagnostic equipment. Members can focus on care of the patient." he says.

The RIH Evening Auxiliary also donated $50,000 towards the project, which was completed earlier this week.

“Time is critical when it comes to treating a patient with emergency or urgent health needs,” Interior Health Board Chair Erwin Malzer says. “This new equipment will allow our doctors and nurses to save precious seconds by moving the equipment where it is best suited for patient care.

For more information about the RIH Foundation and its campaigns to support health care delivery in Kamloops, please visit www.rihfoundation.ca.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

The booms are part of a recently completed renovation to the RIH Emergency Department’s trauma room, which has two bays for treating critically ill or trauma patients.

Image Credit: Contributed

News from © iNFOnews, 2015