Peninsula Co-op matches $150,000 raised by the community for local area hospitals
Community Nee
At Victoria Hospitals Foundation (VHF), we work with our community to enhance accessibility to healthcare on the Island. Because of heroes like Peninsula Co-op, our community has access to leading-edge medical equipment—to expand patient capacity in our local hospitals, and to provide continued education for caregivers at Victoria General Hospital (VGH), Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH), and Gorge Road Hospital.
When the global pandemic hit, it was crucial that we worked closely with Island Health to plan for the effects that COVID-19 could have on our hospitals. Currently there is an urgent need for greater critical care patient capacity and the ability to monitor complex patients. Peninsula Co-op’s generous matching gift of $150,000 has allowed us to address this issue head on.
Local Co-op Support:
Peninsula Co-op’s incredible support for healthcare on Vancouver Island has paved the way for our community. When they gave the matching gift of $150,000 for hospital foundations across Vancouver Island, including $100,000 for this critical campaign, they inspired so many people to give too. Because of this matching gift—our generous community came together and gave an additional $123,350 knowing that every dollar they gave—Peninsula Co-op would match. A truly admirable incentive for our community!
This matching gift allowed for an impactful head start for It’s Critical. These gifts will be allocated to Royal Jubilee Hospital, one of two COVID-19 primary response sites on the Island. Peninsula Co-op’s support towards It’s Critical will help purchase eight new critical care beds and upgrades to the critical care patient monitoring system, including a new central monitoring station and eight new patient monitors allowing caregivers the ability to see what’s happening with patients at any given moment. The beds in the HAU are specially designed to care for ventilated and other complex patients. With this increased capacity, our hospitals will be better prepared for more patients who require respiratory attention in response to COVID-19.
RJH is better equipped for the unprecedented times brought on by COVID-19 because of Peninsula Co-op’s generosity.
How You Can Help:
Because of Peninsula Co-op’s philanthropic leadership in our community, there was a strong start to It’s Critical. Our community was so inspired by Peninsula Co-op’s leadership that they came together and gave $235,761.00 to be split between hospitals foundations across the island, in only 11 days! Because of generous community leaders like Peninsula Co-op, Victoria Hospitals Foundation has already met $500,000 of the $7 million campaign goal. We are so inspired by our community’s willingness to support healthcare.
There is still a long way to go before the campaign is fulfilled and the HAU is complete. Right now, more than ever, our hospitals require more beds to accommodate more patients. Plans for the HAU have been in motion for over two years. COVID-19 has fast tracked these plans to nearly double critical care capacity. We are asking our community to continue to donate and help increase critical care capacity at RJH.
Philanthropic support for healthcare has never been more crucial than right now. With the global pandemic at the top of mind—we need to increase capacity at RHJ, to ensure that we are prepared for tomorrow.
If community members are interested in getting involved, please visit https://www.victoriahf.ca/ to learn more about our volunteer program, and how to donate to; It’s Critical.