Thursday, October 14, 2021
‘Supporting our frontline workers by giving them the tools they need’
Local healthcare officials, doctors, nurses, patients and volunteers will take to the airwaves of Lake 88.1 Radio on Thursday, October 14th for a live 12-hour fundraising ‘Radiothon’ in support of our local hospitals and community health centres.
The station is once again partnering with the Almonte General Hospital/Fairview Manor Foundation, the Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital Foundation, as well as Country Roads Community Health Centre, ConnectWell Community Health and Rideau Community Health Service.
The event will be the third major healthcare Radiothon for Lake 88, which is now a division of ‘My Broadcasting Corporation’ after owners Brian Perkin and his wife Jennifer sold the station earlier this year. Perkin, who continues as General Manager, says a full day of interviews and information segments has been planned to increase the awareness of local health care facilities and to highlight specific equipment needs that require funding.
Perkin says, “As we prepare for this year’s event, we need to remind everyone that our local hospitals must raise funds on an on-going basis to pay for their equipment. Even though our governments have spent significant dollars on COVID-19 care, it’s still necessary for our hospitals to fundraise so they can buy the equipment they need to provide quality healthcare.”
Perkin states that one of the little known facts about healthcare funding is that each hospital in Ontario is funded by a general budget that pays for heat, hydro, maintenance and the salaries of nursing and support staff. He adds, “That budget does not cover the purchase of medical equipment to provide patient care. Items like medication pumps, surgical equipment and vital signs monitors are all purchased from funds donated by members of the community – not through provincial dollars.”
The list of equipment needs this year is a long one. The Urology Department at the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital requires new surgical equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the kidney and bladder at a cost of over $225,000.
The Almonte General Hospital & Fairview Manor Foundation needs a ‘Point of Care’ I-STAT analyzer to give Physicians immediate results to blood work and fundraising continues for AGH’s new CT Scan unit.
The Carleton Place District Memorial Hospital requires more than 100 pieces of patient care equipment, totaling approximately 2 million dollars, for use throughout the hospital including the new Emergency Department building.
And support is needed for program and services provided by Country Roads Community Health Centre in Portland and Westport, ConnectWell Community Health in Lanark and Carleton Place, and Rideau Community Health Services in Smiths Falls and Merrickville.
On Radiothon day, the on-air hosts will share stories from some incredible patients and volunteers whose lives have been changed and saved thanks to the generosity of local donors. The excitement of Radiothon day will also be shared online at lake88.ca. From 6am to 6pm, the phones will be manned by foundation staff and volunteers who will take donations from listeners wishing to support any or all of the local hospital foundations and community health centres.
As Dr. Peter Roney, former Chief of Staff at PSFDH says, “Anyone who lives in this region of Eastern Ontario will have a very high likelihood of personally benefiting from the equipment funded through local donations. Most of us will make use of our local hospitals at some point in their lives. So when you make a donation, you are making a donation to yourself and your family.”
