Little Eliza May has spent a third of her life in the Victoria General HospitalB次元官网网址檚 pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
The seven-year-old has a unique, undiagnosed auto-immune disease and is one of 2,000 pediatric patients treated at the hospital every year, a number that continues to grow.
The hospital is now seeking 40 new monitors to provide life-saving neonatal and pediatric care B次元官网网址� technology that costs a whopping $1.8 million.
So to raise the funds, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation has launched a new campaign, You are Vital: Pediatrics B次元官网网址� a companion to the foundationB次元官网网址檚 successful, You are Vital fall campaign for decision-making equipment at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals.
B次元官网网址淲e want our children home and healthy. When thatB次元官网网址檚 not possible, and when they need expert medical attention, we want them close, on Vancouver Island, surrounded by their support network,B次元官网网址� said Victoria Hospitals Foundation board chair Steve McKerrell.
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With a growing pediatric population on the Island, the vast majority B次元官网网址� 98 per cent B次元官网网址� of children are cared for at Victoria General Hospital. Every year, 3,000 babies are born and 2,000 pediatric patients are treated in the hospital.
According to the foundation, one in six newborns spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and one in eight children require care in the PICU.
And for little Eliza, her time in the PICU is vital. She requires nightly injections to knock down her immune system from its state of overdrive, and if something sets it off, it triggers rashes, joint pain, fevers and hyper-inflammation that compromises her body and lungs.
B次元官网网址淭he Victoria General Hospital PICU doesnB次元官网网址檛 get the credit it deserves. They work so hard,B次元官网网址� said Stacey Wilkerson, ElizaB次元官网网址檚 mom. B次元官网网址淩ight now, they need your help to fund new patient monitors. ItB次元官网网址檚 the equipment we associate most with her care and survival because it showed us how strong she was when fighting for her life.B次元官网网址�
The You are Vital: Pediatrics campaign will equip the NICU and PICU with 36 patient monitors that B次元官网网址渕onitor vital signs at the crib, bassinet or bedsideB次元官网网址� and four central monitors that provide care teams with a B次元官网网址渃onsolidated, centralized view of every patientB次元官网网址檚 current statusB次元官网网址� on things like vital signs, heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.
B次元官网网址淲e are asking our community to help ensure our pediatric caregivers have the best possible tools so that our littlest and most fragile patients can continue to receive exceptional care, here at home,B次元官网网址� McKerrell said. B次元官网网址淥ur NICU and PICU need new patient monitors.B次元官网网址�
The is the foundationB次元官网网址檚 first pediatrics-only campaign in five years. Contributions are accepted online at , by calling 250-519-1750 or mailing to Wilson Block, 1952 Bay St., Victoria BC, V8R 1J8.
To learn more about the Victoria Hospital Foundation, visit .
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