We love our hardworking healthcare workers!

A manager gives two nurses gift boxes
A message of thanks on a card with a gift box

Peterborough Regional Health Centre has an incredible team of nurses, staff and doctors. Over the last year, they have demonstrated courage and strength while continuing to provide care and support for patients and their families.

We’re so proud of them, and grateful for the work they do, every day. And we’re grateful to all of the donors who have helped us support them throughout the pandemic.

Donor generosity funded tools and supports such as additional scrubs, new plexiglass screening stations at hospital entry points, and iPads and supportive equipment for the Virtual Visiting Program so isolated patients can connect with loved ones.

Thanks to your donations, PRHC is better positioned in 2021 to continue caring for as many patients as possible while keeping patients, families, volunteers and PRHC’s 3,200 workers safe.

Now, PRHC Foundation is honoured to partner again with your hospital to show our healthcare providers how much we – and you, through your donations and kind messages of thanks – appreciate them. This week, 3,200 wellness kits made possible by the generosity of Foundation donors are being delivered to the Health Centre’s nurses, staff and physicians. Each kit includes both fun and healthy treats, and self-care products.

We also included one of a selection of the hundreds of personal notes of appreciation Foundation donors sent to us this year for our PRHC team members. We join the hospital in hoping these tokens of our and your gratitude bring a smile to their faces. 

As they tackle the third wave, our work continues. Our mission has never been more important. In addition to funding PRHC’s most urgent needs including COVID-19, your gifts are helping to give the hospital’s experts the essential tools they need to save lives.

If you’d like to support your hospital, please visit prhcfoundation.ca/love/. There you can send a message to the PRHC team and make a donation in their honour. Thank you for continuing to show them your grateful hearts!

PRHC is bringing cutting-edge new CT scanners to our region with your help

A Medical Radiation Technologist and volunteer demonstrate a CT scanner
A radiologist stands in front of a CT scanner

Dr. Mario Voros is a PRHC Radiologist who’s leading the charge to bring two new, state-of-the-art CT scanners to the hospital. We asked him to tell us about this cutting-edge equipment and how it will improve care for thousands of patients in our region…

What is CT scan technology?

A CT – or computed tomography – scan is a more powerful, dynamic, moving X-Ray. Unlike a traditional 2-dimensional X-Ray, CT scanners create hundreds of incredibly detailed cross-sectional images and 3-dimensional images of a patient’s anatomy. They’re unique because they can display a combination of soft tissue, bones and blood vessels in a single image.

Why are CT scans an important diagnostic tool?

Radiologists call CT the workhorse – or backbone – of the hospital. At PRHC, about 28,000 CT scans are performed each year because they’re crucial to rapidly confirming a diagnosis and beginning lifesaving treatment for many seriously sick or injured patients. We perform a CT scan for patients with head injuries to rule out a brain bleed. We use CT for rapid stroke assessment and to identify blockages or damage in arteries. We image for common issues like kidney stones and appendicitis. We use CT in cancer care. CT helps doctors diagnose fractures and issues related to trauma. A chest CT can even identify some consequences of COVID-19, like pneumonia.

Why does PRHC need new CT equipment?

PRHC’s current CT scanners are more than 12 years old and nearing the end of their lifespan. They must be replaced with new equipment. This is an opportunity to make significant advancements in our critical CT services because the technology has come a long way in a decade. We need the most advanced imaging technology available, so that every doctor at PRHC can do our jobs to the best of our ability.

How will the new CT scanners benefit patients?

The new CT scanners will fit the needs of the hospital now and well into the future. They’re the best available scanners on the market. They’re faster, meaning shorter scan times. This is better for all patients, but especially those in pain or distress. They’ll provide much better-quality images, making it easier for my colleagues and me to see what’s happening inside a patient’s body. And there’s less radiation used during a scan, which means less risk to the patient.

How will donors help make this equipment advancement possible?

The government doesn’t fund most of the technology doctors, nurses and staff use to provide patient care every day. So, we rely on donors to help us invest in equipment that is vital to the world-class care we provide to patients from across our region. It’s donors who make that care possible by giving to the PRHC Foundation to help fund cutting-edge tools, like essential new CT scanners. And at PRHC, we’re all very grateful for that support.

For more information or to support this exciting investment, please click here or call 705-876-5000.

Enzo’s birdhouses in support of PRHC Foundation

A man stands behind a table of birdhouses holding two birdhouses in the air

UPDATE (Apr. 15, 2021): Enzo has sold out of his beautiful birdhouses! Thanks to your enthusiastic response to his fundraiser, he’s all out of corks. Thank you to everyone who supported this creative initiative, and to Enzo and Susan for their commitment to PRHC Foundation!

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Enzo Curcio has been inspired to support the PRHC Foundation as a way to say thanks to Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s doctors, nurses and staff for the care his wife, Susan, received during a hospital stay. This spring, he’s making birdhouses from corks to raise funds in support of the equipment and technology PRHC’s healthcare professionals use to provide that world-class care!

Enzo’s cork creations are available for purchase (cash only) until April 30. Different sizes are available, with prices starting at $25.

Thank you, Enzo and Susan, for your commitment to your regional hospital! And thanks to Clifford Skarstedt/Peterborough Examiner for this great photo of Enzo with his beautiful birdhouses!

Chemung Lake District Lions Club makes transformational gift in support of the Cardiac Cath Lab

Lions Club member presents a large cheque

Our deepest thanks to the Chemung Lake District Lions Club who have made a transformational gift of $250,000 in support of reinvestment in Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Cardiac Cath Lab!

This very generous donation will help fund the advanced equipment cardiac patients from around our region depend on for minimally invasive, lifesaving care closer to home. Without it, thousands of patients from central eastern Ontario might have to travel as far away as Kingston or Toronto at a time when every second counts. The Lions’ donation will go a long way toward keeping this level of care at PRHC.

Thank you, Chemung Lake District Lions! We’re so grateful for your visionary commitment to regional cardiac care.

Congratulations and thank you to PRHC Foundation Board member Dan Moloney!

Foundation Board Member smiling

Dan Moloney has been a dedicated volunteer with the PRHC Foundation for 10 years and his continued service is being recognized with an Ontario Volunteer Service Award from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. He’ll be honoured for his volunteer contributions at a virtual ceremony this month.

Dan is a hardworking, fun-loving volunteer and strong leader who’s committed to making a difference in our community, and we’re grateful to work with him. Thank you for your decade of service, Dan!

Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival donates $55,449 for the next important step forward in PRHC’s chemotherapy program

Volunteers outdoors with Dragin boat paddles and large cheque

Each and every year we are overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support we receive through Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival. 2020 was no exception.

We are so grateful that even after the tough decision to cancel last summer’s Festival due to COVID-19, Survivors Abreast and the Festival Planning Committee still raised an incredible $55,449 in support of 2020’s important fundraising priority: Robotic Intravenous Automation (RIVA) technology.

This generous donation will help fund the next important step forward in PRHC’s chemotherapy program. RIVA is cutting-edge robotic technology that automates the process of preparing medicines for chemotherapy. The result? Faster, more accurate cancer treatment.

Our deepest thanks to Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, Survivors Abreast, and all the volunteers, fundraisers and sponsors for their continued commitment, passion and dedication to ensuring breast cancer patients have access to the latest treatments, technology and world-class care at PRHC!