There are fewer than three hours left to donate to the 18th annual 800 CHAB Family First Radiothon, which is seeking to raise more than $100,000 this year to support cardiac care equipment at the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital.
The radiothon kicked off yesterday and has been running for more than 30 hours, with the final bell set to sound at 6 p.m. tonight.
This year’s goal is $140,000; last year’s event raised more than $593,000, mainly due to a large planned giving gift. Overall, the event has raised over $5.4 million to support the Old Union Hospital and — since 2015 — the Wigmore.
The five machines the Moose Jaw Health Foundation wants to purchase are:
- A LUCAS automated CPR machine for $16,000, which provides consistent, high-quality automated chest compressions and reduces the physical strain on the medical team, allowing them to focus on other aspects of patient care
- An ECG Mac 5500 machine for $22,000 to evaluate and understand heart health by recording the electrical activity of a patient’s heart and help medical professionals identify arrhythmias, heart attacks and other heart diseases
- A Holter monitor, which is a small, portable ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) device that continuously records the heart’s rhythms for 24 hours or longer while patients conduct their daily activities; this machine costs $14,000
- Medication carts for staff to organize, store and have quick access to life-saving medication for cardiac care patients’ needs; the hospital needs four totalling $50,000
- Patient stretchers that are comfortable, adaptable, lightweight and offer advanced mobility to ease physical strain on health professionals; the hospital requires six, totalling $30,000
Every year, health-care professionals help more than 2,900 patients who experience a cardiac incident at the hospital, which translates into one episode every three hours. Other statistics show that heart disease is the No. 1 annual killer of Canadians, while nearly 3,000 Saskatchewanians die annually from heart attacks and strokes.
To donate, visit the Town 'n' Country Mall in person, donate online, or call 306-691-4483 (GIVE).
