Dialysis machines a dire need
Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation's Festival of Giving raises nearly $130,000 for new units
Simon Whitehouse
Northern News Services
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Jeff Fowler, chairperson of a new dialysis capital campaign asked how many people were closely associated with somebody receiving blood treatment, most of the 260 hands at Saturday's Festival of Giving went into the air.
Yanik D'aigle, bank manager at Royal Bank of Canada bids for a Yellowknife Golf and Country Club package in the silent auction. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photos |
The Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation's annual fundraising gala raised nearly $130,000 - almost half of its fundraising goal that will see the hospital receive three new dialysis stations.
The foundation is now attempting to raise $275,000 within the next six months for the stations, a hemodialysis monitor for the dialysis unit plus a few smaller-ticket items.
Sandra Mackenzie, chairperson of the foundation, said after consulting with hospital administration over the summer, the foundation felt that more and newer equipment was needed for the hospital's dialysis unit.
"Right now the machines are working around the clock and there is no alternative machine," Mackenzie said of the dialysis unit, which currently has five machines.
"If one broke down or needed to be fixed, there is no backup. Additional machines mean there will be backup and additional people will be able to get dialysis."
Julie Bennett, the new executive director on the board, said the foundation has been aware of a lack of accessibility to dialysis machines, especially after a Yellowknifer article in June told of a Newfoundland man being denied dialysis treatment by the hospital while visiting family in Yellowknife.
"The focus is dialysis and we want to raise that amount of money so that we can get those stations and get them into the hospital," Bennett said.
"We hope to reach out to that family to tie into our capital campaign but how we will do that we are not sure yet."
Bennett was very pleased with the turnout as there was a waiting list and said she was excited about the level of corporate participation. One of the highlights included an Edmonton Oilers tickets package with a flight and hotel from AMS and First Air. When the live auction between two people got to $4,200, the two companies announced a second package with the agreement that both bidders would pay $4,200 each. The foundation ended up making $8,400 as a result.
Another big donor was De Beers Canada which provided $10,000.
People who attended the gala noticed a very different layout of the night as Bennett, who owns her own event planning business called Fundamentals Unlimited, designed the look of the tables, linens, chair covers, drapery on the covers and a new photo booth.
In addition to Mackenzie and Fowler, other speakers included nurse practitioner Fraser Lennie, Maxwell Morapeli of De Beers, Aleitha Martin, a nurse in the dialysis unit, and Rhonda Reimer, former dialysis unit nurse.
Some of the money will also go toward smaller equipment like a weigh scale ($865), a rigid sigmoidoscope ($1,000), a vortex mixer ($2,566.44), a nutating mixer ($898.09) and a pain therapy kit ($500).
