This National Philanthropy Day (NPD), The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital is celebrating the transformational change that philanthropy has at Guelph General Hospital.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Pollard family and the community of Guelph-Wellington, Guelph General Hospital (GGH) has successfully completed a remarkable $6 million transformation of its Special Care Nursery (SCN).
Watch this video to see what the new Pollard Family Special Care Nursery looks like. Ariana and Mike Christie who experienced care in the old nursery when their twins were born share their thoughts on the new space and Carrie Anderson, GGH’s Director of Maternal/Newborn and Paediatric Services explains what this space means to her, the SCN team and the families who they will care for.
On October 12th, Ariana and Mike were among the first to step foot in the newly transformed Pollard Family Special Care Nursery. Mike shares, “We were overwhelmed with emotion,” while Ariana states, “A space like that would have changed our entire experience.”
Ariana and Mike Christie, the proud parents of Oscar and Axel, twins born prematurely at just 34 weeks, had an incredibly challenging start. Their newborns spent their entire first month in the Hospital's SCN. Oscar was eventually transferred to a larger hospital, but his return was delayed due to a lack of space. However, thanks to the dedicated care they received, Oscar and Axel are now thriving. All of this unfolded before the SCN renovations began which made for an emotional first visit to the new space for these parents.
Read Ariana and Mike’s full story
Another transformational change at GGH to celebrate this National Philanthropy Day is the hospital’s new donor-funded MRI scanner that went into service on November 2nd. This advanced scanner ensures continuous testing, improved image quality, faster scans, and a more comfortable patient experience. It even enables MRI-guided breast biopsies and minimizes breakdown risks, improving patient care at GGH. Community support of the Together, We Care fundraising campaign made this possible.
Read more about the MRI scanner here.
The transformation of the special care nursery and the new MRI scanner were funded by donations made to the Together, We Care campaign, Guelph General Hospital’s most urgent community fundraising project ever. The campaign exceeded its $34 million fundraising goal in March of 2022, providing essential funding for three transformational projects: expand our Emergency Department and Mental Health services, invest in essential patient care equipment and technology, and expand our Special Care Nursery.
The Special Care Nursery is now open and serving families in our community. Over $15 million has been invested in new patient care equipment and technology including the new MRI. Planning is well underway to complete the expansion of our Hospital’s Emergency Services, starting with building a specialized space for mental health and addiction services.
The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital welcomes continued support to help Guelph General keep pace with the growing healthcare needs of our community. Patient care equipment is not publically funded. All equipment used in the direct care of patients, from IV pumps to surgical equipment to diagnostic imaging scanners, it must all be funded by donations made by caring community members and organizations.
Learn more by visiting The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital website, gghfoundation.ca.