WDH Foundation News & Events

Upcoming Events

Stay tuned for more future events!

Current Funding Priorities

2022 – IV Pump Fleet Replacement

The replacement of IV pumps is a significant project for the Wingham & District Hospital this year. It is a wholesale replacement of the entire fleet of IV infusion devices and includes over 90 components. It includes not only the standard pump units but everything that operates with the pumps to meet the needs of many different clinical scenarios. This project will result in the upgrading of infusion pumps, pain pumps, controllers, and all computerized components.

IV pumps are located throughout the hospital and found in most departments. They are programmed to deliver specific amounts of defined drugs at required intervals. These vital pieces of equipment are used multiple times a day for patients with a wide variety of medication needs. The upgraded IV pumps are like mini computers. Beyond their clinical function to deliver medication, the upgraded devices will also interface with the hospital Information system through the hospital wireless network. The integrated flow of information throughout the hospital is important for consistency of care throughout a patient’s healthcare journey. Like all computerized systems they need to be replaced every 8 to 10 years.

Ongoing Needs

The need for new, up to date medical equipment and improvements to the Hospital never ends. Everyone at the Hospital is constantly striving to improve the patient experience. Having the most up to date and innovative equipment and facilities directly improves the quality of healthcare that patients receive. The Foundation also provides financial support annually to the Wingham & Area Health Professionals Recruitment Committee to help bring quality physicians to our Hospital.

Thanks to the generosity of the community, the WDH Foundation is proud to have funded more than $10 million in medical equipment and facility upgrades at the Wingham & District Hospital. Donors like you have the power to keep this legacy going. By making a gift to the WDH Foundation you are providing our caregivers with the tools they need to serve the community.

Gifts made to the WDH Foundation go directly towards high priority needs. Some of the essential items that are required in the 2022-2023 year include:

  • OR Scope cabinet
  • Glucometer for Lab
  • Bipap ventilation unit for ER
  • Ultrasound stretcher
  • Cardiac monitoring system technology upgrades
  • Urine centrifuge for Lab
  • Clinical Laparoscope
  • MED carts with scanners

Total funding need 2022-2023 = $479,300

Cardiac Monitors Upgrade

Cardiac monitors allow health professionals to closely monitor a patients cardiac rhythm and observe any irregularities. Patients requiring cardiac monitoring include those who have had a cardiac event such as a heart attack, a patient with an irregular heart rhythm, those who have experienced an overdose of certain types of medication, who are receiving medications that affect heart rate/rhythm, or patients with low blood pressure or altered states of consciousness. Because of the wide variety of circumstances that can benefit from cardiac monitoring these devices are used on a regular basis, if not daily, in our hospital.

The planned upgrades to these devices will bring them up to the most recent standards of medical technology. One anticipated improvement is the ability for a patient’s vital signs to flow seamlessly into the electronic health record rather than requiring a nurse to manually enter the data. This change will decrease the risk of transcriptions errors. Upgrading our cardiac monitors will allow us to continue to safely and efficiently monitor patients using the most up to date equipment to maximize patient experience and integrate patient information in real-time allowing the caregivers minute to minute data to help drive decision making.

Foundation News

WDH Foundation Achieves Goal for 2022 Radiothon Project – $82,000

The Wingham & District Hospital Foundation has successfully exceeded their goal for the 2022 CKNX Healthcare Heroes Radiothon. The goal for the event was to raise $80,000 towards cardiac monitor upgrades. Thanks to donations received before, during and after the event over $82,000 has been raised for that project.

When the CKNX Healthcare Heroes Radiothon wrapped up its live portion on October 15th the WDH Foundation had received $61,000. Since going off-air an additional $21,000 has been received. The proceeds from the 10th annual Great Hospital Race held on October 1st also supported the Radiothon project. Exceeding the goal is an extraordinary result and means that our caregivers will have the best possible equipment available to provide excellent care to patients with heart conditions.

The Radiothon continues to be a community wide effort that has immense impact on local, rural healthcare in mid-western Ontario. A big thank you for continuing the keep this invaluable tradition going. We consider everyone who supports the Radiothon to be a true healthcare hero!

Catch Up on Past WDH Foundation News

“The Foundation Connection” newsletter is available online! Simply click on the edition you’d like to read.

Winter 2022 Newsletter

Spring 2022 Newsletter