Thanks to your gifts, outstanding patient care is the standard at PRHC. Throughout the hospital, however, there are opportunities to help save and improve lives through new and improved equipment. Medical technology is constantly advancing. It's only through continued support from the entire community that PRHC can invest in the tools that directly improve patient care and recovery. Choosing to support our highest priority investments helps address the most pressing patient needs. Find out what they are here Adobe (PDF - 25 KB).

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Expanding Vascular Services

EVAR comes to PRHC - Cutting-edge procedure = even safer patient care

Thanks to our designation as one of two regional vascular centres in the Central East LHIN, PRHC is on the cusp of a defining moment. One that will change the way our talented surgeons treat a life-threatening condition. A moment that will allow us to expand our vascular program and add a cutting-edge surgical procedure to our list of services. A moment, however, that will only be possible with your support.

A revolution in care

Like all medical specialties, surgery has had its share of breakthroughs. The most significant since the introduction of modern-day anaesthesia has been the development of non-invasive and minimally-invasive surgical techniques, particularly in cardiovascular treatment and diagnosis.

What can only be described as a revolution began in the 1970s when a perfect storm of technological advancements in radiology and the development of the first catheter-delivered stents allowed surgeons to trade their scalpels for scopes and retractors for fibre optic cables. The result was astounding. Drastically reduced mortality rates for previously high-risk procedures. Shorter hospital stays. Recovery times measured in days rather than weeks. All thanks to procedures that could access the area in question through either the arteries or tiny incisions – all with no general anaesthetic required.

The changing face of vascular surgery

For vascular surgeons, it meant a safer, less invasive way to treat and manage diseases of the arteries and veins. Patients with diseases of the aorta, carotid and lower limb peripheral arteries, as well as emergency arterial ruptures, could be treated with reduced risk, pain and recovery times using interventional radiological and surgical techniques.

One of the most significant minimally-invasive vascular techniques to be developed is known as EVAR or Endovascular Aneurysm Repair, a procedure that uses a stent to repair a potentially deadly aortic aneurysm.

EVAR: The standard in vascular surgical care

Developed as an alternative to open surgery for high risk and older patients, EVAR has now become the standard of care for patients with suitable vascular anatomy who are at intermediate or high risk of complications as a result of open surgery. So much so that new graduates in the field of vascular surgery are fully trained and expected to maintain skill sets in non-invasive procedures like EVAR. As a result, any centre providing high volume vascular surgery must offer EVAR capabilities to provide not only the highest standard of care, but to be able to recruit and retain new vascular surgeons.

And now we can. In fall 2011, the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care gave approval for PRHC’s vascular surgeons to perform this life-saving procedure. All that is needed is the support of the community to help us expand the program.

In order to accommodate the number of patients who we anticipate will benefit from this procedure, PRHC must first invest in the one-time capital expense of outfitting a surgical suite with a new diagnostic imaging C-Arm, and a range of vascular surgery instrumentation sets and micro instruments. These tools are required to perform the necessary imaging, placement and installation of the endovascular stent graft.

That’s why the PRHC Foundation is seeking community support to raise $395,000 to fund the equipment needed to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to provide better, safer care.

Please give generously. For more information, please call Lesley Heighway, President and CEO at 705.743.2121, ext. 3859.

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Mental Health Courtyards

Realizing the promise of a healing environment for Mental Health patients

Light. Space. Privacy. Comfort. The ability to deliver state-of-the art health care. These were the promises inherent in the architectural designs of the new Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) when construction began in 2005. Promises that reflected not only the input of experts, community members, staff and patients, but a societal expectation that our hospitals be more than an institution where the sick are treated. An expectation that they also be a place of healing.

From the day the doors opened in 2008, it was clear that these promises had been kept. Larger, brighter, more private - every feature designed to maximize patient care and safety, while safeguarding dignity and creating a healing environment for patients, visitors and staff.

The importance of a healing environment cannot be underestimated. Documented evidence tells us that a healing environment has a direct impact on patient care – reducing length of stay and use of antidepressants, improving patient satisfaction and improving patient outcomes.

PRHC’s promise of a healing environment is most evident in our four carefully designed courtyards, palliative care roof-top garden and exterior public spaces. Unfortunately, financial pressures and budgetary realignment resulted in a delay in construction of the courtyards until after the hospital opened and community support was found to complete them on a project-by-project basis.

Progress to date has been outstanding. The community, through the PRHC Foundation, has now funded the completion of the rehabilitation courtyard, contemplative courtyard, and Palliative Care rooftop garden.

The next courtyard that the Foundation will focus on is the space that supports Mental Health Services (MHS) , but is also viewable from the palliative department Family Room.

Located on the ground floor of the hospital, the courtyard in its current state is disheartening. Barren and undeveloped, it fails to reflect the welcoming and supportive attitude embodied by PRHC’s MHS staff. Left as it is, it has the potential to reinforce negative stereotypes and social stigmas faced by so many mental health patients outside of the hospital.

However, while it may be a sea of concrete and weeds today, its potential to transform into a safe and therapeutic environment in which mental health patients can engage in their own recovery is limited only by the support and generosity of the community.

With your help, we can create a space for mental health patients that will not only improve the aesthetic, but enhance the department’s holistic approach to care and actually improve clinical outcomes. With your help, we can realize the promise of a healing environment.

Help us realize the promise of a healing environment with a gift today

We believe that mental health is an integral part of health. We believe we must invest now in a space that research proves could significantly contribute to our mental health patients’ well-being and enable treatment that could be as effective as prescription drugs in treating some forms of mental illness.

The PRHC Foundation is seeking community support to fund the completion of the mental heath courtyard and bring us one step closer to fully realizing a healing environment at PRHC.

Your support will help us create a space that will enhance treatment, improve outlook, reduce stress, and actually improve clinical outcomes for mental health patients. Please give generously.

For more information, please call Lesley Heighway, President and CEO at 705.743.2121, ext. 3859.

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Surgical Care

Our surgical team's ability to save lives can hinge directly on the tools they need to perform often complex and delicate procedures. Your donation to help fund surgical equipment makes the safest, newest procedures and techniques possible for our patients – reducing pain and the risk of complications, and speeding recovery.

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Cardiac, Stroke & Vascular Care

The second leading cause of death for Canadians, few things can devastate a family like heart disease, stroke and vascular disease. By investing in medical equipment and technology that aids in early diagnosis, more effective and less invasive treatments, and comprehensive rehabilitation, you will help our patients return to health faster and even improve their chances of survival.

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Urgent Care

Seconds count in an emergency. Access to advanced medical equipment and technology during an emergency will always be essential to our ability to provide the best in urgent care when our patients face traumatic injuries and life-threatening illnesses.

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Pediatrics

When a child requires medical attention, nothing is more reassuring for concerned family members than knowing the proper care is close at hand. Highly-trained and caring staff and technologically-advanced medical equipment are imperative to providing the best treatment possible.

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Mental Health

Investments in services and supports for mental health patients, from seniors with dementia to children in crisis, will help this often marginalized group get the care they need and deserve.

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If none of these areas reflect your dreams of making a difference, please give us a call at (705) 876-5000 or send us an email. We will be happy to work with you or your advisors to ensure your gift is tailored to your wishes.

If you are making a gift in support of one of the specific areas of patient care listed above, please indicate which area in the "fund section" of the gift form, or in the "message" section of the online form.