Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation President and CEO Adrienne Bakker proudly accepts a cheque for $15,000 from Mainland Sand & Gravel Ltd. President Ted Carlson for the Surrey-based aggregate producer’s presenting sponsorship of the SHINE Gala. The gala raised nearly $200,000 (net) towards a new Multipurpose Interventional Suite that will expand specialized care at Royal Columbian Hospital for cardiac, stroke and aneurysm patients. Mainland Sand & Gravel Ltd. has been a donor to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation since 2009.

George Ferguson, treasurer, Loyal Protestant Association, presents a cheque for $22,000 for the purchase of a birthing bed, along with a donation of hand-knit baby hats, to Sarah Bull, patient care coordinator, Royal Columbian Hospital’s (RCH) Perinatal Unit.

RCH is a provincial referral centre specializing in care for high-risk pregnancy patients and neonatal intensive care for premature and ill babies from across British Columbia.  Approximately 3,000 babies are delivered at RCH every year.

(From left) Delesalle family members Pat, Kathy and husband Dr. Tom Barnett, Karen and husband Tim, present a $105,000 donation to RCH Foundation for the Multipurpose Interventional Suite campaign. This cumulative gift from the Delesalle family will be used to help fund an expansion of cardiac care services at RCH, a cause that is close to the heart of former RCH patient Tim Delesalle, who received life-saving treatment in 2010 by RCH Cardiologist Dr. Jean-Francois Dorval.

Tim, a healthy, active 57 years, had an unexpected acute heart attack in May 2010. He had just returned from a run, when he collapsed at home.

“The angels all lined up for me perfectly that day. From my family, to the paramedics, to Dr. Jean-Francois Dorval and the staff at RCH,” recalls Tim.

Tim was transported to RCH, where Dr. Dorval discovered that one of Tim’s coronary arteries was completely blocked. Dr. Dorval performed an angioplasty that quickly opened the artery through the use of a catheter, balloon and stents, restoring blood flow to the heart muscle. With the blood flow restored and the heart function stabilized, Tim’s condition began to improve. Today, Tim’s heart has fully recovered and his life has returned to normal.

Tim is one of the more than 2,400 patients who receive life-saving angioplasty treatments each year at RCH, the referral heart centre for the Fraser Health region. Although one of five heart centres in the province, RCH provides one-third of all angioplasties in B.C.; however, RCH cannot keep up with the increasing demand for specialized cardiac services.

“Medical technology is constantly improving and evolving. We need help in our drive to build a state-of-the-art suite with specialized instruments for cardiac and vascular interventions so that others may some day benefit as the Delesalle family has,” states Dr. Dorval.

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Find out more about Royal Columbian Hospital’s 150th Anniversary.

Join Nichola Smith and family at this annual walk, run or bike event to bring awareness to the risks of esophageal cancer and support detection of this disease through fundraising. Proceeds benefit the Gary Smith Esophageal Cancer Fund.

Saturday, May 6, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Minnekhada Park in Coquitlam | View map
Rain or shine

Give online or call 604.520. 4438 to donate to the Gary Smith Esophageal Cancer Fund. 

For more information, visit garyswalk.ca

“With education and testing, this is a cancer that can be prevented.”

Gary Smith was a healthy, esteemed athlete in his 50s who was a gold-medal winning basketball player in the World Masters Mens Basketball League and a player on the Canadian National Men’s Basketball team when he was young. He was also a respected high school basketball coach and high school principal.

For more than a decade, Gary suffered from chronic heartburn and remedied it with non-prescription antacides. In December 2005, Gary started suffering from back pain, a symptom that would be diagnosed as esophageal cancer four months later by Dr. Brock Pullen at Royal Columbian Hospital. Like many patients with the disease, it was discovered too late and Gary, age 60, passed away in September 2007. 

Gary’s Walk

Gary’s wife, Nichola, wanted to do something that not only honoured his life and his love of sport, but would be of benefit to the wider community.  She decided to raise money to help diagnose esophageal cancer, as well as increase awareness of the cancer, which has a very low profile.

In April 2010, Nichola organized Gary’s Walk, a sponsored walk, run or bike event around Minnekhada Park in Coquitlam. It is now an annual event, and will take place on May 6, 2012.

More than $27,000 has been raised since 2010 to help fund equipment that enables physicians at RCH to detect pre-cancerous conditions and help prevent more patients from developing the full-blown illness.

To make a donation to the Gary Smith Esophageal Cancer Fund, you can donate online or call 604.520.4438.

For more information on Gary’s Walk 2012, please visit garyswalk.ca.

Esophageal cancer: The facts

“Anyone who has heartburn should look out for a change in their symptoms or an increase in the severity of their heartburn. Chest pain, difficulty swallowing and back pain is not normal,” says Dr. Kenneth Atkinson, Gastroenterology, Fraser Health.

For more information about contributing risk factors for esophageal cancer, read the Do you suffer from heartburn? brochure, and visit the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation.

Join Royal Columbian Hospital in celebrating 150 years of excellence!

This year Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) is celebrating 150 years of excellence – a historic milestone for BC’s first hospital. RCH opened in 1862 with 30 beds for men only. Today, this hospital serves one in three British Columbians, men, women, children and babies, and is the busiest air ambulance hospital in the province.

If you were born here, had life-saving surgery, provided care, or want to thank or mention one of our RCH staff who supported you during an illness or medical crisis – we invite you to share your story and send us your photographs. Share the laughter, tears, hopes, joy, and even the sorrow. Your story is part of our legacy!

Send your words, video (upload your video to YouTube and send us the link) or photos to: RCH150@fraserhealth.ca. All submissions are reviewed and edited by Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation in partnership with Fraser Health’s Communication and Public Affairs team. 

Also, read our RCH150 blog written by Historian Dale Millar for an insider’s view of how Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) has grown and changed during the last 150 years.

And, starting April 9th, 2012, listen to our CKNW AM 980 radio ads:

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Italian Mutual Aid Society (IMAS) President Rino Bellini (left) and Sports Coordinator Salvatore Tomasello (third from right) present Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) Medical Imaging Department Head Dr. William Siu and RCH Foundation President and CEO Adrienne Bakker with a gift of $5,000 that was raised from the society’s annual St. Patrick’s Charity Banquet. The gift was presented in honour of the hospital’s 150^th Anniversary, and will go towards RCH Foundation’s Multipurpose Interventional Suite campaign to help fund an expansion of cardiac, stroke and aneurysm care services at RCH. Established in 1929, the IMAS has 320 members and is located at the Roma Hall in Queensborough, New Westminster. 

14-day tour of southern India to benefit RCH

Join nationally recognized meteorologist Claire Martin on a tour of southern India including Cochin, Munnar, Periyar, Kumarakom, Allepey and Goa.

Tour departs October 4, 2012, and will raise funds for critically needed life-saving equipment at RCH.

Tour price is $4795 per person based on twin sharing and includes an optional $500.00 donation to RCH Foundation.

For more information, view tour itinerary or contact Indus Travels at 604.279.8794 or mail@industravels.ca