NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
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The Sandra Schmirler Foundation is sweeping up support for kids' health at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital with a $10,000 grant to the Pediatric Unit. The money will help fund a Central Patient Monitoring System (CPMS) to benefit Soldiers’ youngest patients and their families.
Sandra Schmirler was a nationally recognized curler and Olympic gold medalist who died of cancer in 2000. The foundation was set up in her honour to benefit pediatric and neonatal programs in Canadian hospitals.
“The Sandra Schmirler Foundation has been an incredible supporter of our hospital,” said Brittany Wilson, development officer with the OSMH Foundation. “This grant will help transform the way our Pediatric Department is able to monitor sick children in our care and we couldn’t be more grateful for their generosity.”
A CPMS continuously monitors the vitals of all patients on the floor from one central location. The system tracks a patient’s respiratory rate, body temperature, cardiac output and more, allowing physicians and nurses to respond quickly to any changes in a child’s condition.
The Sandra Schmirler Foundation strives for a future where all hospitals have the technology and equipment to care for sick children and babies close to their homes and families.
“We are thrilled to be able to support the OSMH Foundation again this year,” said Brenda Gallagher, manager, Sandra Schmirler Foundation Donor Relations. “We believe that every baby deserves to grow up and be a champion, like Sandra Schmirler.”
Since 2015, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation has given a total of $95,000 in support of Soldiers’ Neonatal and Pediatrics programs, including $75,000 to complete a renovation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and another $10,000 to purchase a phototherapy Bili Blanket to treat babies with jaundice.
“We are so fortunate to have the support of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation to help us secure the technology and equipment that is vital to our work,” expressed Dr. Michelle Gordon, chief of paediatric and neonatal medicine at Soldiers’. “Our young patients deserve the best care possible and a CPMS will certainly help us deliver that.”
Annually, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation holds a telethon in February to fundraise for hospitals across Canada. Next year’s event takes place Feb. 21, 2021.
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