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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8 funds state-of-the-art Phototherapy Lights needed in the Paediatrics Unit at Royal Columbian Hospital
New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8 has donated $12,387 to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation to fund state-of-the-art phototherapy lights used to treat jaundice in babies in the Paediatrics Unit at Royal Columbian Hospital. (From left) Ron Anderson (RCH Liaison), Richard Gauer (Assistant Rabban, Gizeh Divan), Paul Johansen (President), Donovan Tyres (Secretary), Marvin Knott (Treasurer), Adrienne Bakker (RCH Foundation President and CEO), Ed Scott (President-Elect), Jan Huggan (RCH Paediatrics Manager), Anita Wempe (RCH Paediatrics Patient Care Coordinator), Desmond Shairp (Vice-President-Elect).
New Westminster, B.C. - August 3, 2009 - New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8 has donated $12,387 to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation to fund state-of-the-art phototherapy lights used to treat jaundice in babies in the Paediatrics Unit at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Phototherapy lights are used to treat jaundice, a common condition in nearly half of all newborn babies. Jaundice is caused by the inability of a newborn’s immature liver to properly break down red blood cells, and can result in a baby’s failure to feed and thrive. Phototherapy lights help break down the bilirubin from old blood cells in the baby’s bloodstream. With RCH’s previous phototherapy equipment, which was placed above the baby’s crib, the baby was limited to receiving treatment only when they were in their crib, and could not be held or breastfed at the same time.
As a result of the Shriners donation, RCH now has state-of-the-art phototherapy lights that have proven to be very effective in treating jaundice. The new equipment, consisting of one stand up light and one panel light, can be used together so that the baby receives optimal treatment. The panel light can wrap around a baby so he or she can be held and breastfed while receiving treatment, enabling important bonding between babies and their parents. The stand up light can be used for when the baby is sleeping in his or her crib.
“We are so grateful to the Shriners for helping fund this equipment because it can really help those babies suffering from jaundice to get home faster,” says Anita Wempe, RCH Paediatrics Patient Care Coordinator. “RCH is the Paediatrics centre for Burnaby, New Westminster, Tri-Cities and Ridge-Meadows areas, and we are pleased to be able to have this state-of-the-art equipment to treat babies presenting with jaundice.”
This generous donation to the RCH Foundation marks the 60th anniversary of the New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8, which is committed to helping children with challenges in New Westminster and beyond. “We raise money to help children because we need to take care of our younger generation,” says Paul Johansen, President, New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8. “It’s about families taking care of families, and that’s why we are looking for new members so that we can continue to provide support to children who desperately need it.”
Since 1989, the New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8 has generously donated more than $235,000 to help fund vital equipment for RCH’s Neonatal Intensive Care and Paediatric units to help care for ill and injured children.
“There’s a famous saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and the New Westminster Shrine Club members are community leaders who are doing just that…helping to take care of ill and injured children in this community and beyond,” says Adrienne Bakker, RCH Foundation President and CEO. “We are truly grateful for all of the support they provide RCH, year after year.”
More than 1,000 infants, children and adolescents from Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge are cared for at RCH each year. Newborns to adolescents are diagnosed and treated for a range of ailments, and benefit from access to RCH medical specialties such as neonatal care, orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, cardiology testing and referrals, and psychiatric support.
Those who are interested in joining the New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8 can contact Paul Johansen, President, at 604.524.3964 or paul@edgewaterfortune.com
About Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)
RCH is one of 12 hospitals under the umbrella of the Fraser Health Authority. It is a regional referral hospital for trauma, critical care, cardiac, maternity, newborn intensive care and neurosciences for 1.5 million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar. RCH is also a UBC teaching hospital with a newly expanded Clinical Academic Campus and a community hospital serving New Westminster residents.
About Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation
Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises millions of dollars every year to fund priority projects and equipment needs at Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH). 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, visit www.rchfoundation.com
About New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8
New Westminster Shrine Club No. 8 was formed on March 18, 1949 in New Westminster for the purpose of raising funds to support children with challenges at no cost to parents or guardians. Since 1985, this small but hardworking club has donated more than $1.2 million through community fundraising initiatives for Gizeh Shrine hospitals, the care cruiser program and Royal Columbian Hospital. For more information about the Shriners, visit www.shriners.bc.ca
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For more information, please contact:
Shannon Henderson, Communications Specialist, (604) 520-4438,
shannon.henderson@fraserhealth.ca |
