Inspirational Gifts - NICU Donors

Today York Central Hospital Foundation hosted the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Recognition Celebration in honour of our fantastic donors.

The event took place in the Berwick Family Auditorium at York Central. Donors enjoyed presentations by Hospital President & CEO Altaf Stationwala, Woman & Child Program Operations Director Sally Rogers, Neonatologist Dr. David Gryn, Patient Family Member Rina Lamba, Foundation President & CEO Bill Leacy and Foundation Chair Dr. Nicholas Voudouris.

Rina Lamba shared the heartwarming story of her newest addition's health concerns and demonstrated how the NICU was there for her and her family when they needed it the most. She also spoke of her experiences with her first child who required the services of York Central's old NICU four years ago.

"We are blessed with another child, JAIAN, our first, who is now 4 years.  He was also born in this hospital and because he was two months premature, he spent 6 weeks in the old NICU.  JAIAN got great care there too, but to see the new facility that is more spacious, brighter and with all the most up to date technology --- the rocking chairs are fabulous – all of this inspires a comfortable and confident environment for any new mother."

Dr. Voudouris thanked the donors who attended and presented them with cards. Peter Miller and Stephen Forman, owners of several McDonald's restaurants in the area, presented a cheque to Foundation staff for the proceeds from McHappy Day 2011 which were designated to the NICU.

After the presentations and speeches, Dr. David Gryn toured donors through the new unit so they could see firsthand the remarkable impact their gifts are having on patient care. Donors also had their photos taken by the NICU sign and were served refreshments in the Berwick.

Thank you to each and every one of our donors for your incredible support and generosity in funding this vital project:

Casino and Hold’em Poker Event 2009

Casino and Hold’em Poker Event 2010

CIBC Wood Gundy

Fabrizio and Nicole Cortellucci Family

Nancy Coxford

Fieldgate Developments

Manuel Fiuza and Vilma Cortellucci-Fiuza Family

G & L Group – Joe and Lucy Lamanna

Great-West Life Assurance Company

Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat Of Toronto

J.P. Bickell Foundation

Rose Mary Tomei-Kehren and Bill Kehren
Carl George Klees

Francis Verena Klees

Shirley Eleanor Klees

William John Klees

Wm. J. Klees & Son Ltd.

The Marin/Alves Family

McDonalds Restaurants - Stephen Forman

McDonalds Restaurants - Peter Miller

Elson and Joyce Miles

Montesano Family/Primont Homes

Fausto and Silvana Palombo and Family

Proud Partners Golf Classic 2010

Vincenzo Pulla’s 80th Birthday

r.a.p.t. in health luncheon 2011

Richmond Hill Christian Community Church

Ross and Nicole Ferrier and Family

The Schad Foundation

Shoppers Drug Mart Tree of Life Campaign

Marita Simbul-Lezon

TACC Construction Co. Ltd.

The Volunteer Association of York Central Hospital

ZZEN Group of Companies Limited

Your gifts are helping to ensure York Region’s smallest patients have the equipment and facilities they require to receive expert and compassionate care close to their homes.  

For more photos from the event, check out our Facebook page.

Press Release - Strides for Stroke

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stroke Patients "Win" At Record-Breaking Annual Run

Richmond Hill, ON

"There were many athletes of all abilities at this event, but the patients of the York Region District Stroke Centre are the true winners. Because the run/walk was so successful, the Stroke Centre will be able to purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment and technology that will ultimately help to improve patient care," said Joseph Gulizia, Chair of the Strides for Stroke committee and a Foundation Board Member.

More than 700 participants of all ages, including York Central Hospital President & CEO Altaf Stationwala, Board of Trustees Chair Dina Palozzi, Richmond Hill Mayor David Barrow and MPP Reza Moridi attended the May 7 event held at Richmond Green in Richmond Hill. The event included a 1K Scamper/Hip Hip Hooray race and 5K run/walk. Each participant who completed the races received a finisher’s medal, courtesy of Pizzaville.

Prizes were also awarded in several categories including top male and female runners and top pledge earners for both teams and individuals. Participants enjoyed post-race massages courtesy of Hillsview Massage and Therapy Centre and walked through the Health Fair, which featured several local businesses and organizations. Special thanks to the Naming Sponsor Richview Manor, a 137-bed Retirement Home, located on Eagles Nest Golf Club.

"We cannot thank the sponsors, volunteers, donors and participants enough for their outstanding support and commitment to the patients of the York Region District Stroke Centre," said Mr. Gulizia. "A lot of effort went into planning this event and we couldn’t have asked for a better result."

Since 2006, York Central Hospital Foundation’s annual run/walk has raised over $470,000, for York Central Hospital. This includes a new Digital Mammography Unit for the Breast Health Centre, leading-edge surgical equipment and construction to triple the size of our Emergency Department.

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Contact:
Margo Sage-Arnold
Manager, Special Events
York Central Hospital Foundation
(905) 883-1212 ext. 7803
msagearnold@yorkcentral.on.ca

Jaimie Shen
Special Events Coordinator
York Central Hospital Foundation
(905) 883-1212 ext. 7807
jshen@yorkcentral.on.ca– York Central Hospital Foundation’s 6th annual Richview Manor Strides for Stroke 5K Run/Walk event has raised a record $125,000 for the York Region District Stroke Centre, exceeding its original goal of $75,000.

May 13, 2011

Nat'l Nursing Week - Thank You To All of YCH's Dedicated Nursing Staff!

Give the Ultimate Gift - The Gift of Life

At York Central Hospital Foundation, we are privileged to have an incredible group of donors and volunteers whose tireless gifts of time, talents, resources and donations have set us apart from other Foundations.

They are our ambassadors. They provide leadership, guidance and experience. They open doors. They donate gifts which help to improve health care in our ever expanding community. They raise awareness - and our profile - in Southwest York Region and beyond. Their support is crucial to our success.

This week, we’re helping to raise awareness of another type of donation: the gift of life. April 17^th to 23rd is National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW) in Canada. Nearly 1,500 Ontarians are currently on a wait list for a life-saving organ transplant, some of which are right here in our area. In fact, just over every 2 days, someone in Ontario dies while waiting for an organ transplant.

After attending an organ and tissue donation awareness event on April 19th in the Berwick Family Auditorium, I was incredibly touched by the generosity of our patients and their families.

In 2010 at York Central Hospital, 44 lives were changed because of generous organ and tissue donors.

I was also surprised to learn how many people in our catchment are affected by organ and tissue donation. Last year, 22 patients at York Central received kidney transplants. So far this year, the number is already at seven.

While the statistics from last year are great, the need is still greater; 29 people are on waiting lists in our catchment area. One person could save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 more by donating their organs and tissue.

To find out more information and register your consent to become an organ and tissue donor, visit giftoflife.on.ca.

Sincerely yours,

Alyshia

Stewardship & Communicaitons Coordinator

Inspirational Gift - Elson and Joyce Miles

Retired farmers Elson and Joyce Miles have a long history of giving back to the community and this past year was no exception.

Recently, they supported York Central Hospital Foundation in a financially savvy way by donating shares to fund priority equipment projects. By transferring their shares intact, they helped to purchase life-saving medical equipment and avoided paying capital gain tax.

“Having lived in York Region our entire lives and seen the dramatic changes that have taken place, we understand how important community support is for our hospital,” they said. “It gives us great pleasure knowing we are playing a part in York Central’s efforts to improve health care for the people in our community.” 

Their gift helped to fund three priority projects: Minimally Invasive Surgery, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Patient Pump Project.

Last night, Elson and Joyce were honoured in a donor recognition ceremony at York Central Hospital. More than 20 past and present Board members, spouses, volunteers, hospital and Foundation staff and family members attended the momentous event. There were many laughs, memories and stories shared about the couple’s long history with the Foundation as well as their involvement in the community.

Speakers included York Central Hospital President & CEO, along with three physicians who spoke about each priority project and the impact of Elson and Joyce’s gift. Stan Neal, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors and the colleague who recruited Elson to the Foundation more than 20 years ago, spoke of their history, dedication and vision along with a few personal stories. Dr. Nicholas Voudouris, Chair of the Board of Directors, ended the speeches by thanking the couple and presenting them with a card.

The rest of the event was filled with reminiscing, a lot of laughter and photos.

In addition to being generous donors, Elson and Joyce have been involved in the Foundation for more than 20 years. Elson has served as a Board Member and held a number of executive positions including Chair of the Board. He also played a pivotal role in the $35 million Share The Spirit of Care campaign by chairing the Steering Committee.

Their involvement in the community is equally impressive. Elson was a member and past president of the Markham Pizza Project, a school-based agricultural program. He was also president of the Unionville Home Society and served the Town of Markham as a councillor. Joyce has been involved with church choirs since she was a teenager and led her own choir “Cache Chorale” for 18 years, retiring in 2010. Today, she helps out by playing the organ for occasional weddings and funerals at the Presbyterian Church in old Markham.

Thank you Elson and Joyce for your continued support and commitment to health care in Southwest York Region! The world is truly a better place with community-minded volunteers like both of you.

President's Corner - Honouring our incredible volunteers

This week marks one of the most important weeks of the year for our Foundation: National Volunteer Appreciation Week.

Our organization relies on the dedication, support and commitment of our volunteers in nearly every area of our daily work. From our Board of Directors to event committees to in-office support, our volunteers work tirelessly to help us become closer to realizing York Central Hospital’s vision of becoming the finest community hospital in Canada.

I feel that we’re blessed to have more than 120 volunteers on our committees, Board of Directors and in our office.

Their leadership, accountability and participation helped us exceed our fundraising goal last year. They’re ensured our events are as successful as possible. They assist us in the office with day-to-day activities. They provide a second, third and fourth opinion and they’ve opened the doors to many new prospects, donors and opportunities.

In addition to the many volunteers in our Foundation, we are incredibly grateful for the more than 900 volunteers at York Central Hospital. These men, women, students and community members play a pivotal role in both the Foundation and the Hospital. The Volunteer Association of York Central Hospital has donated more than $4.4 million to the Foundation towards funding priority projects and generously provide more than 85,000 hours of service each year to the hospital. Thank you to each one of the volunteers for their incredible commitment, service and support.

Our volunteers are fueled by the kindness of their own hearts and have personally taken it upon themselves to work towards making York Central Hospital a better place for our patients, staff and community. While this is the one week in the year that highlights their hard work, we are grateful for our volunteers each and every day. The Hospital and Foundation would truly not be the same without them.

On behalf of the entire York Central Hospital Foundation team, a sincere, heartfelt thank you to our incredible volunteers for everything they have done in the past and continue to do as we move forward!

Sincerely yours,

Bill Leacy

President & CEO

President's Corner - Happy New (Fiscal) Year!

Today marks the first day of a new month and the first day of our next fiscal year.

This past year has been a tremendous success: we welcomed a new President & CEO to our hospital, York Central Hospital’s Board of Trustees appointed a new chair and vice-chair and we opened the region’s most advanced Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

And, we exceeded our fundraising goal for the year thanks to the incredible support from donors like you! Through your generosity, we were able to fund more than $1 million in medical equipment and technology, a newly renovated and expanded NICU and a second Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) Suite. This means York Central’s team of dedicated medical professionals will have the equipment and facilities they require to continue delivering expert and compassionate care to you, the patients.

Although we’re only a few hours into our new fiscal year, I can’t help but get excited about our projects and goals this year. The development of a two-site health care system is moving forward which means we’re one step closer to being able to provide expanded health care services to residents in Southwest York Region and beyond. We’ve have a new list of priority projects to fund this year, including renovating six paediatric rooms and outfitting them with new equipment.

We’re also raising funds to standardize intravenous pumps throughout the hospital.

Currently, the hospital uses eight different infusion pump systems that do not have built-in safety features. The pump selected by the Hospital is the Symbiq Infusion System – one with a near perfect safety rating.

This pump system increases safety for patients by auto-programming medications, preventing human errors.  They are electronically manufactured to detect potential errors, averting mistakes while tracking “near misses” for future improvement.  In addition, since the pumps are programmed to dispense the appropriate dosages, nurses and other staff members have more time to spend with patients, improving the overall quality of care.

Finally, we’ve welcomed a new Director of Major Gifts to our team, Luci Anderson. Luci has leadership experience in both the profit and non-profit sectors, including her most recent employer, Providence Healthcare Foundation, where she was the Director of Major Gifts & Campaigns.

With new leadership and several exciting projects under way to improve care for the people in our community, I’m hopeful, through your support, this year will be our best to date!

Wishing you the best of health,

Bill Leacy

President & CEO