Jennifer Geens
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 25/05) - When it comes to gifts, Stanton Territorial Hospital believes that money does indeed grow on trees.

More than half of the Stanton Hospital Foundation's annual fundraising revenue stems from the Festival of Trees.

Dr. John Morse, Stanton Territorial Hospital's medical director, with a colonoscope, one of several types of scope paid for by residents and businesses in the NWT. The Stanton Hospital Foundation has raised millions since 1997 to buy needed hospital equipment. - photo courtesy of Gail Torraville Here are examples of what Festival of Trees money means to health care in NWT: Electronic patient care beds (4) - Extended Care Unit patients can adjust their own beds allowing them more comfort and independence. Cost $10,000 Infant incubator - Nursery uses this for premature newborn care. Cost $25,000 Project Heartbeat - Diagnostic equipment to aid cardiac patients. Cost $100,000 Bilirubin photo therapy system - Obstetrics unit uses this to examine a jaundiced newborn, but so it can nestle in its mother's arms. Cost $6,000 Endoscopic equipment (5 pieces) - Enables early diagnostic and preventive care as well as reduces need for invasive surgeries such as biopsies (bowel tissue samples), and therefore shortens hospital stays. Cost $200,000 Treatment bed - In the physiotherapy unit, this bed comforts patients during therapy sessions. Cost $2,500 Computed tomography (CT) Scanner - This machine has been a great boon for diagnostic imaging of all sorts. Since 1999, more than 6,500 residents have had CT scans, saving the Territories about $6.5 million in travel costs. The time saved in requesting the scan and getting results quickly so treatment can start right away is incalculable. Cost $1,300,000 - Source: Stanton Territorial Hospital annual report

Last year's live auction alone raised $35,000. The foundation has raised about $100,000 a year for the past three years.

The money raised by the gala and live auction of sumptuously decorated trees helps buy state-of-the-art equipment to advance health care for patients.

Providing diagnostic procedures in Yellowknife means patients wanting to know the health of their bones or if they have cancer, for example, don't have to spend their time or taxpayers' money flying to Edmonton.

This year's Festival of Trees gala will happen Friday, Dec. 2.

Saturday, Dec. 3, is the Family Fun Day with a visit from Santa and other kids' events.

Though the Foundation counts diamond mines, airlines and a telephone company among its major donors, every little bit helps, said executive director Linda Bussey.

"Even if it's a $100 donation, we turn around and try to make $200 with it," she said. "Small donations are very important, and so are in-kind contributions."

Fundraising is the name of the game at the Foundation. Its sole function is to come up with the money necessary to play Santa Claus for the hospital, and give the medical facility whatever piece of equipment is at the top of its wish list. Since 1997, the foundation has given the hospital $3.3 million worth of items.

So it's fitting that the Foundation's busiest time of year is the lead-up to Christmas. Throughout November a steady stream of people pop in to their office at the Diamond Plaza to buy tickets for the gala.

The big push won't be over until January, when the last of the tax receipts are sent off.

Each year, the 14 member board sets a fundraising goal to buy a specific piece of medical equipment.

"People think we decide what to buy and we don't," said Bussey.

Each hospital department makes up a shopping list of needed items, which can range from beds to high tech diagnostic equipment. The hospital narrows down the list, and makes a case for each one. Ultimately the decision is based on what is needed most and what would benefit the most people.

This year's fundraising goal is a bone densitometer, used to diagnose osteoporosis. More and more NWT residents need their bone density assessed and have to travel south for the test, said Bussey.

Bussey said some people have a problem with supporting the Foundation's efforts, because they believe the government should be responsible for providing the hospital with the equipment it needs.

"The government has limits to what they can do," said Dr. John Morse, Stanton Territorial Hospital's medical director.

"If we waited for the government to purchase these things we'd be further behind."

Morse said having the latest tools for the job makes a big difference at Stanton. Since the Foundation-funded purchase of a $1.3 million CT unit in 1999, more than 6,500 patients have had their scans done in Yellowknife instead of Edmonton, saving the government $6.5 million in travel costs.

Having local equipment for diagnoses and treatments helps reduce waiting times and patient stress, said Morse.

"It allows us to do our jobs better," said Morse. "If we didn't have the Foundation, I just don't know where we'd be at."

Besides the Festival of Trees, other major events include the Multicultural Dinner, Bastille Day, and the NMI Mobility Golf Tournament. But big parties aren't the foundation's only approach to raising money.

Bussey finds the communities respond more to direct mail campaigns than Yellowknife does. Memorial donations are also growing, said Bussey.

Over the last two years, the Foundation has received more than $15,000 in memorial donations. Many people also remember the hospital in their wills. The heart of the Foundation is its volunteers, said Bussey.

It takes more than 100 people to stage the Festival of Trees, which has become the main source of the Foundation's fundraising revenue. The idea was borrowed from Alberta, and now Whitehorse has begun its own Festival of Trees.

After experimenting with a sit down dinner last year, feedback indicated they should return to the old format, said Bussey.

New this year will be two inflatable games: a 15-foot slide and a 46-foot obstacle course.

A returning favourite is Mrs. Claus' Secret Shop. It's a children-only area (the door is three feet high) where kids can buy pre-wrapped gifts for the people on their Christmas list at discounted prices, usually about $1.50.