17th Annual Light up a Life Campaign Begins

(Click here to make a secure on-line donation to the Light up a Life Campaign)

Today marks the official kick-off of the 17th Annual Light up a Life fundraising campaign, in support of the Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation.

Funds raised through this year’s campaign will help NHH invest in new information technologies. Technology that will ensure we continue to offer the highest quality care to our patients.

In a letter being mailed to Foundation supporters, Dr. Kirk Haunts provides an explanation of how important technology is to the Northumberland Hills Hospital. Just as medical equipment is continually improving, so too is information technology. By supporting the Light up a Life Campaign donors can help the Hospital put systems in place today that will help us keep pace as health care continues to change in the future.

“The Northumberland Hills Hospital cares for tens of thousands of patients every year and technology plays an important role in the treatment provided each and every one of them,” says Dr. Kirk Haunts, Chair, 2010 Light up a Life Campaign, “The hospital keeps detailed records of all patients’ visiting the facility. This information is captured and stored in a computer so it can be accessed at any time. You see, it’s absolutely vital for the doctors and staff at Northumberland Hills Hospital to have access to this important information. The ED and ICU teams need accurate information about a patient’s condition as quickly as possible. It can quite literally mean the difference between life and death.”

The Foundation is hoping to raise $125,000 during this year’s Light up a Life Campaign.

On Wednesday, December 8th, the community is invited for a Light up a Life ceremony, to celebrate the campaign. Starting at 7:00 p.m., in the Main Street Bistro of the Northumberland Hills Hospital, there will be a number of family focused activities, including seasonal entertainment and refreshments. The highlight of the evening will be the lighting of the Rotary Club of Cobourg Courtyard, shortly after the ceremony begins.

Those interested in learning more about the Light up a Life campaign, or in reading Dr. Haunts’s letter, are invited to visit the Foundation website, at www.nhh.ca. To make a donation, or to offer your support, please call the Foundation office at (905) 377-7767.

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For more information, please call
John Russell, Development Coordinator
Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation
(905) 372-6811, ext. 3065

Dear Friends,

First and foremost, I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for your past generous support of the Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation. Your generosity is the reason Northumberland Hills Hospital is such a high-quality facility. Thanks to generous community support, we can offer you and your neighbours exceptional care, close to home.

My name is Dr. Kirk Haunts. I’m writing you today as a family doctor and recent graduate. I grew up in Ontario and completed my medical residency at Queens University. In 2009 I chose to move to Northumberland County to set up my practice. Why? In large part, because of Northumberland Hills Hospital.

I wanted to offer my patients the best possible treatment options right in their own community. In my own community. I know many of my colleagues feel the same way: We’re proud of our hospital. And, we’re grateful to you for helping make it such a world-class facility.

I’m also writing you as Chair of the NHH Foundation’s 17th Annual Light up a Life Campaign. It’s the time of year when we light up the hospital’s interior courtyard and decorate it for the holidays. This bright and cheerful display brings hope and good cheer to patients who are in hospital during the holidays.

Will you please send a special holiday gift to support the hospital once again? The government provides community hospitals, like NHH, with only the cost to operate and does not fund medical equipment. NHH depends on your gifts to purchase the advanced equipment and technology needed to stay on the cutting edge of medical treatment.

Your support in the past helped purchase advanced medical equipment and technology -- like our new CT scanner and MRI machine. Today I’m asking you to send a gift to help the hospital invest in advanced information technology.

What does that mean? Perhaps I can best explain it to you with a story…

As a family doctor, I keep detailed records on my patients’ medical history. That includes any illnesses, injuries or operations they’ve had. It also includes medications I’ve prescribed. I put this information into a computer so I can access it at any time.

Now I’ll ask you to imagine one of my patients -- let’s call him John -- is at home watching television with his wife. John starts to feel stabbing chest pains. Concerned, his wife drives him to the NHH Emergency Department. The ED team moves into action. They hook John up to a vital sign monitor. He’s continually observed through a central monitoring system. He has several mild heart attacks.

John then has a CT scan performed as well as multiple x-rays. The team determines that John needs a special surgery to insert a stent in his artery. He’s transported via ambulance to St. Mike’s Hospital in Toronto for the surgery. John returns home the next day -- in time to celebrate his 70th birthday!

Why did I tell you this story? To show you that John’s treatment depended on advanced medical equipment and information technology. Throughout the course of his care, information about John’s condition -- including his vital signs, CT scan results and x-rays -- was instantly accessible by the staff caring for him at NHH. When John was transferred in the ambulance to St. Mikes, the information went with him. Finally, the information was transferred back to me, John’s family doctor.

John was in excellent hands the entire time, thanks to the advanced medical and information technology available at NHH.

You see, information about my patients is important to my job as a doctor. And it’s absolutely vital for the doctors and staff at Northumberland Hills Hospital. The ED and ICU teams need accurate information about a patient’s condition as quickly as possible. It can quite literally mean the difference between life and death.

Your gift today will help NHH invest in new information technology. Technology that will ensure we continue to offer the highest quality care to our patients. Just as medical equipment and technology is continually improving, so too is information technology. We need your help to put systems in place today that will help us keep pace as health care continues to change in the future.

This year, the NHH Foundation’s goal is to raise $125,000 from the Light up a Life Campaign. I’m confident your gift of whatever you can afford -- combined with gifts from our other friends in this community -- will bring us to our goal.

At some point in your life -- if you haven’t already -- you or someone you love will need hospital care. You can be sure NHH will be there to give you the best quality care possible -- right in your own community. Please send your gift today.
Yours truly,

Dr. Kirk Haunts, MD
Chair, Light up a Life Campaign 2010

PS: When you send your gift, please also sign and return the enclosed holiday card. Your card will be displayed in the hospital to bring a little more light into our patients’ lives at this time of year. Thank you again for all that you do!