At a media conference held on February 1,
2007 at the HRSRH St. Joseph’s Health Centre, a
cheque
for $15,889.40 was presented to the Sudbury Regional Hospital Foundation
from the Optimist Club of Valley East.
The donation was used to purchase a new CPAP unit for the HRSRH’s
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The
NICU utilizes several CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) units to
assist newborns who are unable to breathe adequately on their own.
CPAP is often used to prevent premature infants from succumbing to
respiratory failure and can prevent the need for intubation.
CPAP delivers oxygen (or air) under a small amount of pressure to
the baby, usually through small tubes fit into the nostrils.
The pressurized air helps keep air sacs in the baby’s lungs open.
Past-President
of
the Optimist Club of Valley East, Richard Legault
explained that most activities the Optimists are involved in are for the
benefit of children. Beaudry went on to state that “The Optimist Club of
Valley East is very grateful for the opportunity to help babies in our
community. On behalf of the
entire club, I would like to say it has been our pleasure assisting the
NICU and we look forward to helping out again in the future.”
“The Foundation is proud to work with groups in our
community for the betterment of healthcare in
Northeastern
Ontario.
” stated Jim Corless, Vice
Chairman, “The Foundation is especially proud when we have the
opportunity to help meet the healthcare needs of children in the
Sudbury
area.” stressed Corless.
Joe
Pilon, HRSRH Senior Vice President, was on hand to
accept the donation on behalf of the NICU.
“I would like to thank the Optimists for their dedication to the
children of our community and for this gift to the HRSRH’s Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit.”
CLUB OPTIMISTE DE VALLÉE EST INC.
On
June
9, 1919
eleven clubs met in
Louisville
,
Kentucky
and
adopted the name International Optimist Club.
Five years later, the first Canadian Optimist Club was formed in
Toronto
,
Ontario
.
Currently there are 105,000 individual members who make up over
35,000 autonomous clubs in 53 districts spread across the globe.
Collectively, Optimists serve over 6 million children per year,
including 1.5 million children in
Canada
.
Optimist International’s mission statement is that “By
providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in
kids.” Programs run by
Optimist clubs include: Childhood Cancer Campaign, the Optimist
International Junior Golf Championships, and International Scholarships
(Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Essay Contest,
Oratorical Contest.
Each member club is autonomous, run by members in their community
and is flexible to serve youth in their area in anyway they feel fit.
Each member club also elects their own officials and raise their
own funds. The Valley East
Optimist Club was charted on
August 22, 1990
and
currently has 17 members who volunteer their time helping children in our
community. Some of the
activities the Valley East Optimists organize include a bike rodeo which
provides children a chance to have a safety check on their bikes and the
Santa Claus Breakfast which provides breakfast, a meeting with Santa, and
a loot bag for children in 6
Valley
East
elementary schools. The Valley
East Optimists also host a golf tournament for children in the community
and the winners of the tournament get to participate in the Optimist
International Junior Golf Championships.
The Valley East
Optimist Club meets every third Monday at the Centennial Arena in Hanmer.
The club currently has 17 members and 6 additional individuals who
will become full-members this year. The
club continues to grow each year and is always accepting new members.
SUDBURY REGIONAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
The Sudbury Regional Hospital Foundation has raised funds for local
healthcare initiatives for three decades. Governed by a Board of Directors
made up of a cross-section of our community, the Sudbury Regional Hospital
Foundation is the fundraising partner of the HRSRH.
A separate entity from the Hospital, the Sudbury Regional Hospital
Foundation’s mandate is to operate exclusively as a non-profit,
charitable foundation to raise funds for medical equipment and capital
construction.
Hôpital
regional de Sudbury Regional Hospital is the regional referral centre for
hospital-based patient care for people throughout northeastern
Ontario
.
The HRSRH is not program-specific but rather a full service
facility with primary, secondary and tertiary care levels for the over
600,000 people in the North. The
HRSRH has recently integrated the former Northeastern Ontario Regional
Cancer Centre within its structure as a part of the Regional Cancer
Program. The HRSRH is also
renowned as the site for both the first beating-heart surgery to be
performed in
Canada
as well as the
first hospital to successfully use stem cell transplantation to fight
cancer.
On March 28, 2000, the Sudbury Regional Hospital
Foundation signed an historic partnership agreement with the Northern
Cancer Research Foundation, the
St. Joseph
's Foundation of Sudbury, the Hôpital régional de
Sudbury
Regional
Hospital
, the Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre and the
St. Joseph
's Health Centre. Together, these three Foundations and three health care
institutions formed the Heart & Soul Campaign - the most ambitious
fundraising partnership in the history of
Sudbury
. The Heart & Soul Campaign ended in April 2003, two years ahead of
schedule. Over $50 million was raised in this Campaign, making it the
largest and most successful fundraising campaign ever in
Northern Ontario
.
Since
its amalgamation on June 22, 1998, the Sudbury Regional Hospital
Foundation has disbursed nearly $17.9 million towards HRSRH equipment and
capital funding needs. These
disbursements include millions towards important medical equipment such as
dialysis chairs, blood pressure monitors, beds and stretchers, and an ECG.
The Foundation has helped and will continue to help all departments
and areas of the HRSRH with their equipment and capital needs.
Your
continued support to the Sudbury Regional Hospital Foundation will ensure
that we can continue to fulfill our vision “to ensure superior health
services in northeastern
Ontario
.”