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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 25, 2007
Tzu Chi Foundation Donates $50,000 for State-of-the-Art Equipment in the new ICU at Royal Columbian Hospital
New Westminster, B.C., April 25, 2007 — The Buddhist Compassion Tzu Chi Foundation has donated $50,000 to help fund a state-of-the-art ceiling-mounted equipment boom in the new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH), which is slated to open in late May, 2007. This latest gift brings the Tzu Chi Foundation’s cumulative support of the hospital to $154,000.
As the regional centre for major trauma, cardiac and neurosurgery cases for 1.5 million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar, RCH has been challenged to provide highly-specialized, one-on-one medical care to severely ill and injured patients in its current 29-year-old ICU. The new $7.6 million ICU is 10,000 square feet, twice the size of the current unit. It will soon improve patient care with private rooms that will reduce the risk of cross-infection between patients and four new dedicated family waiting rooms that will offer more privacy for families.
The Tzu Chi Foundation provided the donation to RCH as part of its mission to help provide the best care possible to as many people as they can. The $50,000 donation helps fund one of 14 ceiling-mounted equipment booms for the new ICU. The specialty designed booms feature two separate ‘arms’ and are the first of their kind in the Lower Mainland, designed to provide improved patient access for hospital staff.
"Tzu Chi members draw resources locally and apply them locally,” says Yi Ling Chen. “As Royal Columbian Hospital is the principle medical centre for patients in the Fraser Valley area and beyond, we can reach out to as many people as possible by helping the hospital acquire more advanced medical equipment. We are pleased that our gift for the ceiling-mounted boom will help provide patients with better care and services."
This is the largest donation made by the Buddhist Compassion Tzu Chi Foundation since it began supporting RCH in 2003. In addition to the latest gift of $50,000, today their cumulative support amounts to $154,000. The Foundation has supported vital equipment needs throughout the hospital, including the purchase of a ventilator, two critical care beds and two bedside carts for the Cardiac Services ICU.
The RCH Foundation was responsible for raising $1.6 million from the community to help fund equipment for the new ICU. “Thanks to significant donors like the Tzu Chi Foundation we are able to help the hospital provide this highly specialized equipment and provide patients and their families the best care possible during times of crisis,” says Adrienne Bakker, President and CEO of the Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) Foundation.
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About Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) Foundation
RCH Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises millions of dollars every year to fund priority equipment needs and enhancements to patient care at Royal Columbian Hospital. Approximately 1.5 million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar depend on Royal Columbian to provide highly specialized care for major trauma emergencies, cardiac and neurosurgery, renal treatment, high risk maternity and newborn intensive care. For more information about the RCH Foundation or to make a donation, please call 604-520-4438 or visit www.rchfoundation.com
RCH Foundation Media Contact
Ingrid King
Phone: 604-777-8340
Fax: 604 520 4439
Email: ingrid.king@fraserhealth.ca
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