A new table for hip surgery and magnetic seeds to help in breast cancer surgery – these are just a couple health-care innovations that will be available at the Richmond Hospital after its foundation raised $1.3 million last week.
The annual gala usually targets specific needs in the hospital, and these innovations that will improve patient care, making procedures less invasive, were identified this year as the fundraising targets.
In addition to raising money, the hospital foundation’s CEO Natalie Meixner praised Richmondites for “putting their hand up” to help improve health-care in Richmond.
“(The gala) just felt very genuine, very authentic,” she told the Richmond News.
“It was so positive – I always love how people in our community really care about our community,” Meixner said. “You could feel it in the room.”
The new hip replacement technique allows doctors to do the procedure from the front of the body instead of the back, something Meixner described as a “game changer for patients.”
And, instead of using a fish-hook-like wire to guide a surgeon, a magnetic seed can be implanted 30 days before surgery as a less invasive and uncomfortable procedure.
The third item identified as a target for fundraising was another echocardiography ultrasound machine for the hospital. The ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to see the size and structure of the heart. This allows a doctor to see the pumping action and blood flow in the heart’s valves.
The Starlight Gala at River Rock Casino was attended by B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix and VCH board chair Penny Ballem.
The Dan On Family Foundation matched donations at the gala.
Over the past 35 years, the foundation has raised more than $160 million.
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