St. Joseph’s Hospital will benefit from a significant donation from the Telemiracle Kinsmen Foundation.
The hospital’s foundation announced on Tuesday that it has received an $82,000 contribution from the Kinsmen Foundation. The money will be used to purchase new beds for the hospital’s medical Unit A.
“The medical unit sees over 765 patient admissions per year. The beds currently on the medical unit are 24 years old and are outdated,” said Cheryl Harrison, the manager of the medical unit.
“We are thrilled with this donation, and it has come at a perfect time, as some of the parts needed to repair the existing patient (beds) are no longer available from the manufacturer, which means the beds need to be retired.”
Unit A serves a variety of patients in many different stages in life, and is a key component of the hospital. The unit offers general care for all patients, including those with diabetes, heart problems, strokes, disabilities, orthopedics, addictions, mental health issues, palliative care needs and gastric issues. It also has surgical patients and those with other medical needs. The unit has the highest volume of patients and the highest demand of care in the hospital.
“The Kinsmen Foundation works to help people every day,” said Cindy Xavier, the Kinsmen Foundation’s executive director. “These beds will help to improve the quality of care for patients in Estevan and the surrounding area.
“We’re able to make this donation because of the generous support of our donors throughout Saskatchewan."
St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation executive director Becky Conly said there are 23 beds in Unit A. It costs approximately $7,000 to replace a bed, and all will be replaced. The foundation will fund the new beds not covered by the Telemiracle support, with money raised and donated in previous years.
"These beds all have fall protection alarms, which notify staff with an alarm if the patient is trying to get out of bed, to prevent possible injury," Conly said. "They also have an alert alarm if the breaks are off. These beds have top of the line mattresses that allow for air movement to prevent pressure areas and skin breakdown.
"The beds will attach into our existing call bell system. They can also be brought down closer to the floor that the previous beds, which allows for safer exit of the beds for patients."
Conly noted the bed replacement has been a need of the hospital for many years. Because of the huge cost to replace these beds, it was decided that the hospital foundation needed to search for grant funding from an outside source.
While the provincial government provides funding for the operations of St. Joseph’s Hospital, other than rare occasions, there is no provincial funding for capital purchases, making the replacement of major equipment, such as new patient beds, very difficult.
Even more difficult is the task to replace equipment necessary on a daily basis due to wear and tear and breakdowns.
Conly is thankful the hospital foundation had tremendous support from the local Kinsmen and Kinettes who sit on the Kinsmen Foundation Grant Application Board.
