DESIRÉE DECOSTE

STAFF WRITER

The Rotary Club of Wellington showed their love for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH) on Valentine’s Day by pledging to fund an essential piece of medical equipment.

As a second pledge commitment with the PECMH Foundation, the Rotary Club of Wellington is to fund up to $60,000 for the purchase of an Automated Endoscope Reprocessor (AER) which is needed in the Medical Device Reprocessing Department at Quinte Health Care (QHC) PECMH.

This pledge is in addition to the $400,000 the Club committed to for the Back the Build campaign underway to build a new hospital in PEC.

“Our caregivers have access to leading edge equipment because our donors are investing in our hospital,” said Barbara McConnell, chairperson of the PECMH Foundation. “We are extremely grateful to the Rotary Club of Wellington for stepping forward with this second pledge in support of the exceptional care delivered at our County hospital. The foundation plays a critical role in providing funding for essential, specialized equipment. Donor dollars go a long way towards improving care for residents in our community who need treatment, close to home.”

An AER is essential to the delivery of Endoscopy services at QHC PECMH. This vital piece of equipment disinfects each gastroscope and colonoscope between patients. The new AER will replace the current machine, which is outdated.

Automated Endoscope Reprocessor (AER).

The new AER will allow quicker turnaround time to efficiently process scopes as the updated technology reduces the cycle time by about 25 minutes. This machine operates using two fully independent reprocessing bins so two scopes can be cleaned at the same time. It uses environmentally friendly high level disinfectant to process the scopes, making it safe for staff.

“I speak on behalf of all Wellington Rotary members in saying that the community rallies behind our County hospital,” stated Trudy Brown, president of the Rotary Club of Wellington. “Displaying our fundraising thermometer for the new hospital campaign at the bottle return depot prompted many donations and positive comments from our patrons. Since we have achieved our fundraising target for the new hospital, it only made sense to see if there was something else we could do. A newspaper article from PECMHF in December identified different equipment needs, one of them being an AER. Having Endoscopy services in the County hospital is important to many of us, which made the Club’s decision very easy.”

PECMH is the low-risk endoscopy centre for Quinte Health Care. On average, over 3,500 individuals travel to Picton from across Southeastern Ontario each year for cancer screening and scope procedures.

The Rotary Club of Wellington intends to raise the funds needed for the AER over a two-year period. They plan to use donations from their bottle recycling depot toward this initiative. The bottle depot is open on Wednesday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and is located at the old mill on Second Street in Wellington. In addition, the Club is once again partnering with Nyman Farms to sell maple syrup this year. One hundred percent of the proceeds of syrup sold by Wellington Rotarians will support the AER.

“PECMH Foundation raises funds so our hospital can acquire the advanced technology and even basic equipment that is not covered by provincial health care funding,” said Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation. “Having the right technology improves diagnosis and length of treatments giving our professionals the tools they need saves lives. Without community fundraising, our hospital would not have the financial means to purchase essential equipment, like the AER, and make necessary upgrades to our infrastructure. We are grateful to the Rotary Club of Wellington for their philanthropic leadership, supporting our ongoing priority equipment needs and investing in our new hospital.”

Medical equipment is expensive and has a short lifespan. Unlike many operating costs, equipment is not funded by the government; it is expected the community finances the replacement of medical equipment and building redevelopment through the work of hospital foundations. This is why support from our donors is so important.

“Since its inception,” McConnell said. “The foundation has supported programs and services integral to the advancement of health care and the wellbeing of the citizens of Prince Edward County and the surrounding communities by raising, managing and distributing funds to Quinte Health Care. The foundation’s goal is to continue raising the necessary funds to acquire the technology and equipment not funded by the province.”

The Rotary Club of Wellington will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2022. They are a vibrant club of approximately 40 members who are recognized as enthusiastic supporters of the Prince Edward County community and can be counted on for both charity and volunteering service above self, locally and internationally.

For more information on Wellington Rotary please visit https://www.wellingtonrotary.ca

For more information or to donate to PECMH please visit https://pecmhf.ca

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