THE BRANDON SUN • WESTMAN BUSINESS • OCTOBER 26, 2024
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Helping to build better care in Brandon
tians shared a testimonial on its use with acute care patients such as ICU patients, surgical patients, and patients on the medical floors. The group has indi- cated that the monitor enables them to determine what factors are having an impact on energy expen- diture in patients and how best to adapt to meet their nutritional needs to provide a “gold standard of care.” “It’s really helps them to provide better patient care which is so important,” Saler said. While Foundation for Care is focussed on the crit- ical care building, people may not realize that when they donate to the BRHC Foundation, they can al- ways choose where their donation goes and can be targeted to any area, such as mental health care, ICU, NICU or Cancercare as well as an “identified needs” fund. “When they donate, donors are guaranteed that it stays here in the region to serve the region and 100 per cent of donations goes towards projects and pro- gramming - none of it goes to administration fees.” The capital campaign page on the website is reg-
ularly updated with progress on the fundraising and the build. “We welcome donations on- line, in person at our office, and over the phone. And we do have a donor recognition program based on the amount of dona- tion,” she said. “Also available are planned or pledged dona- tions for giving in the future.” Community members can also actively participate in a number of events. “We have exciting events coming up including our an- nual Holiday Pancake Break- fast and our Under the Tree of Lights Campaign in December, as well as the WestJet fundrais- er,” Sale said. “We are also doing a region-wide 50-50 draw in the new year.” Another major event com- ing in May 2025 is the half-day
Whether it’s through a
legacy gift, planned giving, or a one-time donation, we are continuously awed and humbled by the generosity of our community” – JESSICA SALER
Jessica Saler, communications and development coordinator for the Brandon Regional Health Centre Foundation. (Supplied)
“The Province assigned a significant amount of money for this build. The hospital approached us for additional assistance, so the funds we raise are to help with whatever is needed, building costs or equipment and training,” Saler said.
BY WENDY KING W hen you need medical attention, being close to family and home can have a huge impact on your recovery. That’s why the Brandon Regional Health Centre Foundation is dedicated to supporting health care services in Brandon and the surrounding communities. And keeping care close to home is just what the new critical care building at Brandon Regional Health Centre will do. “Our capital campaign, named Foundation for Care, was officially launched in June with a goal to raise $2 million for the critical care building by the end of 2025,” says Jessica Saler, communications and development coordinator for the Brandon Regional Health Centre Foundation. Once completed, the critical care building will fea- ture a new 16-bed Intensive Care Unit on the main level, approximately 30 additional medical beds on the second level, mechanical space on the third level, and a shell space on the fourth level for future expan- sions.
Thrive Conference, a revitalizing event featuring na- tionally recognized keynote speakers covering such topics as overcoming the obstacles faced in health- care, refreshing the passion for work, and maintain- ing a resilient work culture. “Thrive serves a dual purpose, to raise funds for the capital campaign and to support our healthcare workers in the public and private sectors, both per- sonally and professionally,” she said. Saler notes that the contributions of the Brandon Regional Health Centre Foundation are only possible because of the generous participation of donors in the community. “We are only able to do what we do because of our community. Whether it’s through a legacy gift, planned giving, or a one-time donation, we are con- tinuously awed and humbled by the generosity of our community.” Information for all of these events and more can be found on the website (brhcfoundation.ca ) as well as on their social media.
The Brandon Regional Health Centre is the larg- est hospital in Prairie Mountain Health. Founded in 1980, the Brandon Regional Health Centre Founda- tion, a non-profit registered charity, has made it its mission to raise funds to support healthcare needs in the regional community. The foundation raised over $1.5 million in 2023-2024 for the purchase of equip- ment, fund programs, services, and more. “It’s really important that this new critical care building is here because it’s going to have an expand- ed ICU unit. With more internal medicine beds, it will really take that patient care to the next level,” Saler said. “Hospital equipment is also very, very expensive, so if we can help alleviate those costs, it helps to pro- vide more updated equipment because even with a new space, if staff are using outdated equipment, it’s not going to be as effective.” One recent valuable purchase is the Q-NRG meta- bolic monitor which has been in use by the clinical dietitians for over six months. Saler says the dieti-
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