Fraser Canyon Hospital
Both patients and staff at Fraser Canyon Hospital are benefiting from a new medication cart thanks to a $7,100 grant from the Envision Financial Community Endowment housed with the First West Foundation.
According to Bev Brulotte, Resource Development Officer at Fraser Health, the hospital’s emergency department was in dire need of a new cart to replace the one inherited from MSA General Hospital in Abbotsford, which closed in the summer of 2008. “The cart had quite a bit of use over the years and was in poor shape. Considering the annual number of ER visits at Fraser Canyon actually exceeds the population of Hope, it was really important for us to upgrade this equipment.”
Medication carts are critical for increased efficiency on hospital floors, since they are portable and prevent staff from running back and forth to a central medication storage area. Fraser Canyon’s new cart features 27 drawers to store patient medication and commonly used tools such as syringes, gauze and tape. The cart also provides extra workspace for doctors and nurses as well as a halogen light to illuminate dimly-lit areas.
“Our healthcare professionals need the latest technology and equipment so they can continue providing patients with the highest level of care,” explains Seline Kutan, executive director of the First West Foundation. “The Foundation is pleased that we were able to help Fraser Canyon Hospital purchase this new medication cart so they can continue meeting the needs of their patients.”
The First West Foundation provides much-needed funding to community groups in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Kitimat and Thompson-Okanagan-Similkameen regions. The Foundation works to grow its endowments through charitable gifts and philanthropic giving. To date, the First West Foundation has donated more than $1.6 million in grants to local community groups and projects.
