Build a gift box for Father’s Day in support of PRHC!

Once again this Father’s Day, Living Local Marketplace has teamed up with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation in support of world-class care at your regional hospital!

When you build a gift box, choosing from hundreds of lovely, local products sourced from across the province, $5 will be donated to help fund state-of-the-art technology, fuel innovation, and bring lifesaving new services to the region. 

Will it be salty, saucy, savoury, spicy, sudsy or sweet? The perfect gift is the one you create, so you decide! With their compliments and thanks for loving local, Living Local Marketplace will package up your purchase, and top it off with some amazing artwork by Christine Liu of Paper Crown Designs in Peterborough. 

You can build your box online for pick-up, local delivery or shipping across the country. Or, shop in-store at the corner of Chemong and Milroy in Peterborough, Wednesday through Saturday, 11am-5pm.

Thank you, Living Local Marketplace and customers, for your wonderful support!

Jennie Ireland says thanks

If you’ve lived with cancer or supported a loved one through treatment, you know how hard it is. Not only the illness itself, but the treatment, too. Cancer care patient Jennie Ireland explains that that’s why receiving care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre was her lifeline. She says it’s thanks to caring people like you that she’s now cancer-free, because PRHC Foundation donors funded the equipment her doctors used to save her life.

“Being able to get my treatment in my community meant less worry and I believe, had a positive impact on my recovery. Without it, I would have had to travel to Toronto, Oshawa or even Kingston, for months on end,” says Jennie. “So, I’m so thankful to donors for all the ways you’ve supported cancer care at our hospital. Your donations really do make a difference. I know I didn’t realize the full extent, though, until I experienced it firsthand.”

There are many more patients like Jennie. With rising patient volumes, especially in cancer care, our region needs the latest technology to help doctors find and treat complex cases faster and more safely, shorten wait times, and save more lives. That’s why supporting investments in essential areas that support cancer care, like interventional radiology, is crucial. And it’s just one of the areas PRHC is investing in to address this demand.

One of the important upgrades needed as part of PRHC’s $6 million investment in minimally invasive interventional radiology is an advanced, portable ultrasound machine. The latest interventional radiology ultrasound systems provide fast, detailed imaging for the most accurate visualization and advanced needle navigational assistance – critical in finding a safe path to the desired area inside the body without puncturing vessels, bowel or other organs.

At PRHC, interventional radiology ultrasound is used during tumour or organ lesion biopsies and in the placement of port-a-caths and PICC lines – which allow for less obvious, longterm access to chemotherapy, with less risk of infection.

Jennie had a PICC line inserted in an interventional radiology procedure at PRHC as part of her cancer treatment. She says she was terrified, but because it was done locally her mom could come with her. She explains what it meant to her:

“After I was diagnosed with an aggressive, fast-growing tumour that had spread to my lymph nodes, my days were filled with scans, surgeries, and rounds of chemo and radiation. I quickly became familiar with every corner of the hospital – even places I’d never heard of like interventional radiology.

“That’s where they put my PICC line in,” she adds. “This was the ‘port’ that was used to deliver my chemotherapy. It stayed in my arm for months, giving me longterm access to treatment, with less risk of infection. I could shower or even swim with it.”

PICC lines and other similar, implantable devices make life a little easier for patients when it really counts. With advanced new interventional radiology ultrasound technology that has improved image quality for vessel analysis, placement of these devices will be even easier for interventional radiologists – and their patients. The new equipment will also help in procedures where placing drains under image guidance is crucial, such as biliary, gallbladder, kidney and abscess tube insertions.

Jennie says, “It’s all this behind-the-scenes, donor-funded care that makes it possible for our hospital to provide lifesaving treatment – right here in Peterborough – under one roof. I can’t tell you what a relief it was that I could focus solely on my health without the added stress of arranging travel, meals, and lodging. My dad drove me to my appointments. My mom cooked dinner on infusion days when I was at my weakest and dealing with chemo side effects. Most importantly, I didn’t have to disrupt my son’s daily routine.”

Care close to home made a difference for Jennie and her family. She became a donor to the PRHC Foundation to help PRHC upgrade their cancer care technology so that more patients like her can get the care they need, where they need it most. You too can help shape the future of patient care at your hospital. To donate in support of this exciting interventional radiology investment or for more information, call 705-876-5000 or click here.

Happy Nursing Week!

Thank you, nurses, for being here for us when it matters most! On this National Nursing Week – and every week – we’re grateful for the outstanding care you provide to patients from all across our region. 

All year long we receive online comments as well as Grateful Heart tribute donations with notes of thanks full of appreciation for the expert, compassionate care you provide to your PRHC patients and their families. Those donations fund state-of-the-art technology, fuel innovation, bring new services to our region, and in turn help the hospital attract more colleagues to join you at PRHC. 

In celebration of Nursing Week, here’s a special video that includes a sample of the lovely Grateful Heart messages collected this year. 

 

Happy Doctors’ Day!

To all doctors, thank you for being here for us when it matters most! On this National Physicians’ Day – and every day – we’re grateful for the compassionate care you provide to patients from all across our region.

The expert work you do inspires donations in your honour to the PRHC Foundation to help you care for other patients. They fund state-of-the-art technology, fuel innovation, bring new services to our region, and in turn help the hospital attract more colleagues to join you at PRHC. Many donations include notes of appreciation that we love sharing with you all year long through the Foundation’s Grateful Heart tribute program.

In honour of Doctors’ Day, check out our video for a collection of some of the wonderful Grateful Heart messages received this year.

Tim Hortons Smile Cookie is back at PRHC May 1-7!

Get ready for Smile Cookie at a new time of year!

Tim Hortons Smile Cookie returns to the PRHC cafeteria Compass Canada Tim Hortons May 1-7 and we’re so grateful to be the charity of choice for this yummy event! 100% of proceeds from PRHC Compass Canada Tim Hortons Smile Cookie sales will be donated to help fund the equipment and technology used every day at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. 

Thanks to Retail Manager Warren Andrews and his team for all the work they do every year to make this fundraiser such a success and thanks to all the PRHC Smile Cookie fans for their support!

Welcome back the birds with an Enzo original

Are you dreaming of spring? Generous, local cork bird house builder Enzo Curcio is! So he’s created another fundraiser in support of the PRHC Foundation and patient care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Now you too can be ready to welcome back the birds this spring with an Enzo original: Bird houses can be ordered until April 30th by email (pick-up to be arranged). Two sizes are available: small for $35 and large for $40.

All proceeds will be donated to the PRHC Foundation – helping to fund technology, fuel innovation and bring new services to our region. Thank you, Enzo and everyone who supports his fundraisers!

Requesting a consolidated or duplicate 2022 charitable donation receipt

Blue heart icon with hospital icon inside

To support our donors in preparing their taxes in good time, the PRHC Foundation is now preparing consolidated charitable donation receipts for 2022, and will have these in the mail no later than February 28, 2023. Please allow 10 days for Canada Post delivery; however, if you’re expecting a consolidated receipt and haven’t received it by March 11, please give us a call at 705-876-5000 or send us an email.

If you were previously issued a charitable donation receipt for 2022 and are requesting a duplicate, please provide us with your full name, mailing address, and the amount of the donation made to the PRHC Foundation in 2022. We’ll reissue your receipt and get it in the mail to you within 10 business days.

Cobourg resident was first patient at PRHC to receive new cancer treatment

Grateful patient Stuart Morley stands in front of the hospital

Two years ago, Cobourg resident Stuart Morley became the first PRHC patient to receive life-changing cancer treatment by interventional radiology radiofrequency ablation for a tumour on his kidney.

The amateur photographer tells how interventional radiologist Dr. Kebby King put a metal probe through a small cut in his skin and using a CT to guide her, found the tumour and dissolved it with radio waves. “It was amazing. I felt no pain and I was able to go home later that afternoon,” he says. “Now I’m back taking photos and looking forward to travelling the world again.”

Interventional radiology is often described as ‘the future of medicine.’ It’s used to diagnose and treat a wide range of emergency and chronic health conditions such as cancer and other illnesses, with less pain and risk, and shorter hospital stays.

Grateful for the great care he received and determined to help pave the way for new ground-breaking therapies to be offered at PRHC in the near future, Stuart donated to the PRHC Foundation.

He knows the need for interventional radiology is growing in our region. A $6 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment, upgraded suites, and an expanded recovery room are essential to meeting that need – so more patients, with more complex conditions can be diagnosed and treated close to home.

For more information on this exciting investment, please click here.

An update on PRHC: Realizing a truly regional health centre

A doctor performs a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure.

Our donors often tell us that Peterborough Regional Health Centre sometimes feels like two hospitals in one. On one hand, they say the personalized, compassionate care provided today by PRHC’s healthcare professionals reminds them of the hospitals where their children were born.

On the other hand, the outstanding calibre of care, sheer scope of service, continuous introduction of new and innovative treatment options, and arrival of world-class experts, tells a different story.

We’re not just Peterborough’s hospital anymore. And that’s good news for everyone.

Becoming a Hub Hospital

The PRHC of 2022 is a significant player in provincial healthcare delivery. A fully regional health centre with an annual operating budget of $320 million, PRHC now supports regional referrals from five smaller partner hospitals within our catchment area, including Ross Memorial Hospital, Campbellford Memorial Hospital, Northumberland Hills Hospital, Minden Hospital, and Haliburton Highlands Hospital.

In fact, PRHC was recently designated by Ontario Health East, our regional health authority, as a fully integrated “hub” for care, similar to Kingston General Hospital, Lakeridge Health, and Scarborough Health Network. That means our hospital is now a peer of GTA facilities like North York General, Humber River Hospital, and Southlake Regional Health Centre.

These leaps forward did not happen by chance. They were realized thanks to the world-class care being provided by an outstanding healthcare team – care made possible by the state-of-the-art tools they’re able to use every day thanks to donor investments.

Accolades and Adversity

We’re very proud of the care being delivered at PRHC. This spring, the hospital achieved the highest possible Accreditation Canada results, receiving the designation “Accredited with Exemplary Standing” for the second time in a row.

Recently, PRHC was also awarded Stroke Distinction in Acute and Inpatient Rehabilitation Stroke Services by Accreditation Canada for the second time, indicating national leadership in the provision of high-quality stroke care.

These accolades would be amazing accomplishments in a normal year. They’re nothing short of exceptional during an ongoing crisis.

PRHC’s leadership and staff continue to respond to the tremendous challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re also working hard to address the difficulties presented by the current healthcare human resources crisis, rising wait times, and external issues like the ongoing shortage of family doctors.

Donors are helping shoulder these burdens, giving PRHC’s healthcare professionals hope that with donor support, we can meet any challenges that come our way.

At the same time, we’re keeping our eye on the future. The need for care in our region is only increasing as our population grows and ages. We can’t lose sight of the investments that must be made now in order to respond to future needs.

Interventional Radiology: Tiny incisions with extraordinary impact

Interventional radiology is used to diagnose and treat a wide range of emergency and chronic health conditions – without major surgery. Because it involves only a small incision and no general anesthetic, it results in less pain and shorter hospital stays.

To treat a much wider range of patient conditions and to pave the way for new, lifesaving therapies in the near future, we’re working with donors to invest $6 million into expanding PRHC’s two existing Interventional Radiology suites, building a new step-down unit, and furnishing all with the latest technology.

Cancer Care: Expert treatment, compassionate care

With your support, we’re also investing $13 million in excellence in cancer care so we can serve more patients, support earlier diagnosis, and ensure safer and more effective treatments. This includes technology like a second MRI, to allow for an additional 5,000 procedures a year (representing a 53% growth in volume), so our oncologists can help more cancer patients who have no time to wait.

A Bold Vision

PRHC has a bold vision for the future: to be the go-to large acute care hospital for patients between Kingston and the GTA. But to get there, we need you by our side.

We hope you’ll consider supporting our hospital this holiday season. Together, we’ll shape the future of healthcare in our region.