Hospital Foundation doles out $68K in family care grants

Big-ticket items might get most of the attention, but sometimes good things do come in little packages.

At least that’s the feeling at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, where on Thursday hospital officials revealed the 39 projects bestowed with a total of $68,000 in family care grants.

A refrigerator might not be at the top of the capital budget list, but in the clinical laboratory, not having one nearby can severely hamper the efficiency of a department that handled 2.1 million tests in 2015 alone.

Health dollars are precious, said laboratory services manager Georgia Carr, which is why the micro grants, funded through the Thunder Bay Health Sciences Foundation, are so critical to patient care.

“The grants are amazing for the hospital are amazing, because fiscal dollars for health care are few and far between,” Carr said.

“We have to be more and more responsible each and every day to look after the patients of Northwestern Ontario.”

There are many items on each department’s wish list that don’t get approved for one reason or another, both minor and major.

The grants allow many departments to purchase some of the smaller items they need – like a new fridge – that have worn out or become more antiquated.

“For the lab it’s as simple a thing as a fridge that wore out and broke,” Carr said. “We would obviously have found the money eventually, but in the meantime the calibrators and controls had to be stored in a fridge that was far away.

“It meant many, many more steps for the staff for each and every sample. Getting this fridge ensures we are still working with our workflow efficiently and that patient turnaround times stay the best that we can provide.”

This year more than 70 grant applications, totaling $151,000 were made.

Successful ventures included a portable mechanical lift and dedicated vital sign monitor for the Regional Stroke Unit, a sleeper chair and new bed for the maternal and newborn ICU unit, a new wagon for the pediatric ward and a buzzer and intercom system for security, allowing patients and family to enter the hospital after hours through the building’s main entrance.

More than $18,000 was spent to provide new seating throughout the facility.

Newly installed hospital president and CEO Jean Bartkowiak said it’s not difficult to see the difference the grants have made.

“More and more people are seeing the importance these grants can have on their unit and are taking the initiative,” Bartkowiak said.