Foundation News
Shoppers Drug Mart "Vital" to Tele-Health for Women
Carol White
(Left to right) Tele-Health Coordinator/RN Brenda Cameron, Shoppers Drug Mart Robyn Guindon - Owner and Ann Kenney - Manager, CCH Emergency Dr. Yuan-Innes. Onscreen is Nurse Educator Janet Kuhnke and Foundation Executive Director Connie Vardy.
Local owner Robyn Guindon lobbies successfully every year with Head Office to ensure a portion of the donations made by her customers to the Shoppers Drug Mart Tree of Life Campaign goes towards Cornwall Community Hospital Foundation's equipment appeal. This year Shoppers requested their donation of $1569 be used to benefit women's health. So, Executive Director Connie Vardy did what she does best – she matched a donor with a need and voila! A new Vital Signs Monitor costing $5,500 was purchased for the CCH Tele-Health program.
Why Tele-Health? Tele-health is a valuable and cost efficient program that facilitates a virtual visit to a variety of distanced health specialists and doctors. Among other great applications the Tele-Health program is used to help local women as they consult with their doctors at the Ottawa Fertility Centre, without having to leave Cornwall. Like any visit to the doctor, taking vital statistics before a consult is important. RN Brenda Cameron (left), who heads up Tele-Health at CCH, virtually and literally, connects the patient to the doctor and she has to provide the specialists with the information they need to help their patients. Having the most up to date equipment possible is important as often specialists need very specific stats. To do this Brenda’s department was in need of a new Vital Signs Monitor to replace her aging equipment.
Dr. Yuan-Innes (right) is an Emergency Doctor at CCH and also a 3 time fan of Tele-Health. She shared her experiences with us, one that saw a patient visit a neurologist in Cochrane, Ontario without leaving his tiny town north of Timmins. As a student, Dr. Yuan-Innes was able to "attend" CHEO Grand Rounds from the comfort of her home while on maternity leave, learning about everything from pediatric neurology to obesity. She has even used the service as a patient, avoiding a three hour round trip to Ottawa. Dr. Yuan-Innes knows first hand this is "good for the patient and good for the environment."
The Vital Signs Monitor came with a price tag of $5,500 so CCH Foundation combined Shoppers gift with other community donations designated to ‘Greatest Priority’ to make this purchase. This is another great example of what can happen when local business and local donors give locally so we can get the healthcare we need without having to leave home. Thank you to Shoppers Drug Mart and our Foundation donors!
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