The 17th Annual Family First Radiothon by 800 CHAB and the Moose Jaw Health Foundation (MJHF) returns May 4 and 5 for the benefit of the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital, which serves Moose Jaw and many surrounding communities.
The MJHF and its fundraisers are part of what keeps the regional hospital’s equipment at a state-of-the-art level. The foundation noted in a press release announcing this year’s radiothon that:
New technology is crucial to saving the lives of critical care patients. Dramatic advances in medical technologies are rapidly transforming the delivery of critical care. The Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital needs the next generation of medical technology to help patients. The lives of friends and family depend on it.
At last year’s MJHF Healthcare Celebration gala, local radio personality Rob Carnie was given an award for his work as the voice of the Family First Radiothon. Kelly McElree, the Health Foundation’s executive director, noted at that time that the Family First Radiothon had raised over $4.6 million to date for hospital equipment.
The MJHF has set a goal of raising $150,000 at the 2023 Radiothon, title Life Can Change in a Moment. Funds will go toward equipment such as the following:
- Critical care bed — a highly specialized piece of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) equipment. The Dr. F.H. Wigmore hospital needs one new critical care bed, at a cost of $46,000.
- Glidescope — glidescopes are video tubes that can be easily inserted to provide a real-time view of a patient’s airways, helping emergency healthcare providers to diagnose and treat them quickly. The Emergency Room (ER) at the hospital needs one new Glidescope, at a cost of $20,000.
- Continuous Wave (CW) Pedoff Ultrasound Probe — ultrasound probes enable healthcare staff to diagnose the cause of many urgent and chronic cardiac symptoms in the ER, ICU, and Medicine wards. One ultrasound probe costs $25,000.
- Patient beds — less specialized than critical care beds, but highly adjustable and essential for the comfort and rest of patients. Three patient beds are needed at the hospital at a cost of $9,600 per bed.
- Quick-thaw plasma system — when large amounts of plasma are needed quickly, a specialized system like this, using controlled temperature and agitation, substantially reduces thaw times for life-saving plasma. A new system is needed, at a cost of $15,000.
Every dollar raised at the Radiothon stays in Moose Jaw to help patients at the local hospital.
The Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional hospital receives more than 29,000 ER visits each year. The ICU and ER never close, and the hospital provides care to more than 1,200 people from the region every day.
Visit MJHF.org for more information on this and other fundraisers held by the Foundation throughout the year.
