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Saint Mary’s Hospital’s legacy lives on in New West and beyond

The legacy of Saint Mary’s Hospital is alive and well. The Saint Mary’s Health Foundation recently held its annual awards event for grant recipients and dispersed nearly $200,000 in grants to local health-care organizations.

The legacy of Saint Mary’s Hospital is alive and well.

The Saint Mary’s Health Foundation recently held its annual awards event for grant recipients and dispersed nearly $200,000 in grants to local health-care organizations.

 “The foundation is a legacy of Saint Mary’s Hospital, the local facility that was closed in 2004,” said foundation chair Rob Stewart in an email to the Record. “Every fall, the foundation provides financial support to health-care organizations that apply and are most suited to the foundation’s criteria.”

Every effort is made to select programs and initiatives that are most compatible with the principles of compassionate care that Saint Mary’s Hospital exemplified, ideally those that support improved patient care, staff morale and competency, Stewart said.

This year, the foundation provided more than $188,000 in funding to organizations for a variety of initiatives: Normanna Care Home (Ergonometric bathtub system); Queen’s Park Healthcare Foundation (Korebalance machine); Douglas College Foundation (assorted health sciences equipment); Kiwanis Care Foundation of New Westminster (two Carendo electric hygiene chairs); Fraser Orthopaedic Research Society (Dr. David Harder lectureship series); Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation (paediatric colonoscope system); Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation (nursing home visit bags); City Centre Care Society (partial funding of EMERGE Addiction Recovery Program renovation); L’Arche Greater Vancouver (supports for Healthy Living program); Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation (stretchers in the new Resuscitation Rooms in the acute zone of the ER); Columbus Residence (two specialty Pressureguard mattresses and control pumps); Burnaby Hospital Foundation (partial funding of C-MAC video laryngoscopy machine to assist the elderly); and Canuck Place Children’s Hospice (supporting the enhanced community care program).

In addition, the Saint Mary’s Health Foundation provides financial support, in memory of Florence L. Cotton, for further education of nursing or technical staff already employed in health care in order to upgrade and enhance their skills, thus encouraging these individuals to remain in health care as a long-term career.  This year, the foundation provided more than $23,000 in funding to 11 individuals and organizations.