When our families and friends turn to QCH for care, they have access to the best treatment options available, and that's thanks in part to the incredible generosity of our community.
Government funding does not cover the costs for the purchase of life-saving medical equipment. In fact, hospitals rely on corporate donations and the community to support the purchase of innovative new devices and to replace outdated and aging equipment.
The medical equipment we need right now is more important than ever before. Investing in upgrades to modern technologies will help us save lives, detect health concerns early, fight disease and provide preventative care. YOU can help us put these lifesaving tools into the hands of the expert medical team at QCH.
Be part of the GivingTuesday movement and make a donation today!
Together, we will save lives.
Campaign Champion: Dr. Ruchi Murthy | Infectious Diseases Physician, QCH
It was April 11, 2020, just a month into the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The whole world was coming to grips with a new normal as they contended with the realities of the pandemic. But in Ottawa, Dr. Ruchi Murthy was dealing with a very different new normal herself. Her precious daughter, Serena, entered the world that day. And as her life grew abundant with the joy and promise of a new generation, she became acutely aware of the world she wanted her daughter to grow up in.
As an Infectious Diseases Physician at Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) Dr. Murthy was balancing the trials, tribulations, and joys of pregnancy and then new parenthood while also supporting the team at QCH through the onset of the pandemic. Her expertise in infectious diseases was leveraged to help provide support and guidance during the healthcare crisis and her pivotal role contributed to keeping our community safe.
Now, more than a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, and a year and a half into raising a precocious toddler, Dr. Murthy continues to dedicate her time to supporting QCH on the frontlines and taking on a volunteer role with the QCH Foundation Board of Directors.
As a healthcare professional, Dr. Murthy believes that giving back is simply part of her everyday work.
Philanthropy is important to my family and we feel that everyone has a role to play in helping to build healthier and safer communities, she explains.
For Dr. Murthy, one of the biggest drivers for her continued support of QCH Foundation is the impact she witnesses in the hospital during her daily work in the Ambulatory Care Clinic and hospital wards. Whether its diagnostic imaging or the general overall support of the QCH staff, she understands the importance of donations in helping enhance patient care.
As a board member, Dr. Murthy knows the volunteer work she is doing today will help pave the way for a positive future a spirit of giving back that she hopes little Serena will one day recognize.
She is so young, but I think she's already showing signs that she is a generous individual, remarks Dr. Murthy. She's already proving at a young age that she cares about things other than herself, and to me that's wonderful.
Dr. Murthy and her family are fully supporting QCH Foundation's #GivingTuesday Campaign and she is encouraging all of her colleagues, friends and family to join in too.
As Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH)s Chief of Staff, Dr. Kathi Kovacs is proud to follow in her parents footsteps. They were both physicians and believed in helping the most vulnerable.
My father was a psychiatrist and my mother was a family doctor working with adolescent kids in trouble. I guess I came by it honestly. They loved their jobs and I was attracted to that. I love mine too."
Dr. Kovacs has worked at QCH for more than 20 years, including serving as Chief of Psychiatry for the past three. As Chief of Staff, Dr. Kovacs knows all too well the pressures that the hospital is facing every day. These pressures often remind Dr. Kovacs of the important role Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation donors play in helping to equip our hospital with the latest tools and devices that physicians need to perform life-saving work every day.
Replacing medical equipment that is out-of-date, or at the end of its useful life, and purchasing the latest and best medical technology is essential for providing the highest standard of healthcare to our rapidly growing community.
Many people are surprised to learn there is no government funding for hospital equipment purchases. The cost of new tools and technology is covered, in large part, by donations from generous community members. These donations will help invest in medical technology that will support expanded program and services, increase efficiency and help reduce wait times, improve patient comfort and safety, and attract the best and brightest medical talent.
In her role, Dr. Kovacs says she wants to continue to highlight the importance of QCH Foundation and do even more.
Ive been involved in many philanthropic endeavours and you always get back a lot more than you give. I want to encourage that mindset both at the hospital and in the community. The Foundation has support from 100% of our physicians and they understand the importance of giving where you live and work. Id love to increase that.
Dr. Kovacs is fully supporting QCH Foundations #GivingTuesday Campaign and she is encouraging all of her colleagues, friends and family to join in too. And, with all donations double matched, thanks to the incredible generosity of our QCH physicians and an anonymous donor, its a great time to give.
Please consider making a donation today!
Campaign Champion: Dr. Elizabeth Shouldice | Emergency Department Physician, QCH
For Dr. Elizabeth Shouldice, QCH holds a very special place in her heart. The Ottawa native grew up just down the street from the hospital, and years later, when she moved back home after completing her medical degree and family medicine residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, it was QCH that she selected to further her career in emergency medicine.
As an Emergency Department Physician, Dr. Shouldice knows all too well the pressures that the hospital is facing every day. With a growing, and aging, population she sees how her QCH continues to be stretched to its limits. These pressures often remind Dr. Shouldice of the important role Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation donors play in helping to equip our hospital with the latest tools and devices that physicians need to perform life-saving work every day.
And, as a mom of two, she knows just how much local families depend on the hospital when they are facing health concerns and that's why she's a big supporter of QCH Foundation. Dr. Shouldice believes that by working together to raise funds and awareness for QCH, well be able to help more people in need of care.
Dr. Shouldice knows that there will always be big wins on the job, like resuscitations or getting to the bottom of a complex case, but for her some of the proudest moments come when she receives a heartfelt thank you card from a patient. That pride is just one of the compelling reasons why Dr. Shouldice and her family are generous donors and supporters of QCH Foundation.
Dr. Shouldice and her family are fully supporting QCH Foundations #GivingTuesday Campaign and she is encouraging all of her colleagues, friends and family to join in too. And, with all donations double matched, thanks to the incredible generosity of our QCH physicians and an anonymous donors, its a great time to give!
Campaign Champion: Dr. Mylene Cote | Chief of the Department of Medicine, QCH
Innovation in healthcare is enabling the team at QCH to reimagine the patient experience from diagnosis to treatment and post-treatment recovery, while increasing quality of care. For Dr. Mylene Cote, an internal medicine specialist at QCH and Chief of the Department of Medicine, one major step forward is the recent implementation of the Connected Care electronic health records system. As one of the lead physicians on the project, Dr. Cote is impressed by how the new system allows for patient data to be shared with all supporting healthcare providers across the hospital, providing for advanced diagnosis, safer care and improved efficiency. When seconds count, electronic charting can save lives and improve patient safety and quality of care.
The efficiency that comes with the implementation of the new records system is allowing Dr. Cote and her colleagues, to spend more time with patients at the bedside, enhancing the overall healthcare experience. That's something that Dr. Cote and the QCH team are passionate about fostering a sense of belonging to everyone who walks through the doors. Whether its a patient, staff or visitor, everyone is part of the QCH family.
Dr. Cote is looking to the extended QCH family to support our hospital this #GivingTuesday. The funds raised will help purchase vital equipment needed to provide efficient care, help improve patient comfort and safety, shorten hospital stays and improve patient outcomes.
Campaign Champion: Dr. Raj Prihar | Vice President of Medical Affairs, QCH
Queensway Carleton Hospital operates one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the region, and with a growing community, the hospital is stretched to its limits. On average, the team at QCH will serve 2,000 patients each week with hundreds of patients being treated in the Emergency Department each day.
There is an immediate need for financial support to help purchase essential equipment to continue to treat patients with the best care possible.
As an orthopedic surgeon, former Chief of Orthopedics, former Medical Director of Perioperative Services and most recently the Vice President of Medical Affairs at QCH, Dr. Raj Prihar has seen the increase in demand over the last 20 years and the urgent need to upgrade equipment and replace aging devices.
To put it into perspective, in his first year at QCH the orthopedic surgical department performed 450 joint replacements. Fast-forward to today, and in the most recent years of normal operations the department performed 1,450 joint replacements. With the number of surgeries tripling over the last two decades, the medical equipment used to perform these operations is in high demand.
With donor support this #GivingTuesday, we will be able to put the latest equipment and technology into the hands of the experts.
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