Something fishy is going on at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.
Doctors John Wickert and Maureen McTavish have fish bearing their names hanging on the hospital’s recognition wall.
The fish, in four categories – bronze, silver, gold and platinum – are hung in recognition of donors who reach a particular level of giving.
Not only do both doctors believe strongly in giving to the foundation, they are hoping others will contribute towards their own fish.
“The key is, we’re doing it as members of the community; our kids, our neighbours, our colleagues and our friends live here,” says McTavish. “And the days of everything being provided by the taxpayer are over.”
Even though governments direct more money to health care every year, the cost of providing care is much higher. For example, heart attack victims have a much better chance of surviving, but the clot-busting drugs, angioplasties and open-heart surgeries that save lives, also cost a lot more.
McTavish, who is a member of the board of the Shuswap Lake Hospital Foundation, says the organization is always looking at how they can continue to raise funds. As well as encouraging doctors to contribute to the foundation, a voluntary payroll deduction for hospital staff will be rolled out. At $5 a pay cheque for 500 employees, that’s potentially $60,000 a year to put toward health care in the Shuswap.
And it is the high-tech equipment that helps to attract highly skilled doctors to the area as well.
“We provide the highest standard of care a hospital in a town this size can,” she says. “But, as with everything, there is a lifetime for the equipment.”
In order to make sure older equipment is replaced in a timely matter, plans have to be made well in advance. A recent upgrade to the CT scanner will keep that vital piece of equipment running for much longer, she says.
Not only that, adds Wickert, a radiologist, the upgrade recently paid off by a generous $$17,785 donation from the Shuswap Lake Health Care Auxiliary, delivers a significantly reduced level of radiation.
Wickert, like McTavish does not want to be in the spotlight as many others have been and continue to be extremely generous, but hopes to raise awareness of the need for donations.
To donate to the foundation may call 250-803-4546, or by send a cheque to Shuswap Hospital Foundation, Box 265, Salmon Arm, V1E 4N3. For more, visit www.shuswaphospitalfoundation.org.