Como Lake Middle School Toy Drive benefits children at Royal Columbian Hospital

New Westminster, BC — May 7, 2013

Como Lake Middle School students Giordana Masi and Olivia D’Agostini have delivered 26 boxes of toys to the Royal Columbian Hospital Paediatrics Department as a result of a toy drive they hosted at school. The two Coquitlam grade 7 students initiated the toy drive out of a desire to help children at a hospital that has cared for them in the past.

“Sometimes you are so lucky and others may not have the same opportunities and we think it is important to try to bring those opportunities to them,” said Giordana Masi. Her friend, Olivia D’Agostini, agreed: “We were both born here, and we’ve been cared for here, so we wanted to make kids’ stays in the hospital a little more enjoyable by donating these toys.”

The toys couldn’t have arrived at a better time, says Michelle Dersch, Paediatrics Patient Care Coordinator. “We purge toys on a regular basis to ensure we meet infection control standards, and it has been a long time since we’ve received any new toys for our young patients to play with,” says Dersch. “Not only do the children being treated at RCH benefit from the distraction of having these toys to play with, but so do their siblings who spend time here, as well.”

Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) is one of Fraser Health’s regional pediatric care centres and provides a high level of care to more than 1,000 infants, children and adolescents each year from the communities of Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

Newborns to adolescents are treated for a range of ailments including respiratory infections, flu, diabetes, appendicitis, asthma and other forms of allergy, heart conditions, broken bones and bone malformations, and many other conditions. These young patients benefit from access to RCH medical specialties such as orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, cardiology testing and referrals and psychiatric support for children and adolescents.

About Royal Columbian Hospital

Centre of Excellence since 1862: British Columbia’s first hospital

Royal Columbian Hospital is a provincial and regional referral hospital providing specialized care for trauma, cardiac and neurosciences, high-risk maternity and neonatal intensive care for 1.7 million seriously ill and injured people from Fraser Health, the Lower Mainland and across the province. RCH is also a provincial teaching hospital with a UBC Clinical Academic Campus onsite.

About Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation

Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises millions of dollars annually to help fund priority equipment needs, facility enhancements, research, innovation and education at RCH. For more information about Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, please visit rchcares.com

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For more information, please contact:

Shannon Henderson
Manager, Marketing & Communications
604.520.4809
shannon.henderson@fraserhealth.ca