Turning on the television has provided a major boost to health care in the North Okanagan.
Telus has donated $175,000 to the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation’s Building a Tower of Care campaign for medical equipment.
“The Telus team members are proud to enable important community infrastructure projects like the hospital expansion that benefit the communities where our staff lives, works and serves,” said Steve Jenkins, Telus general manager.
“When I would ask the technicians what they were doing today, they would say, ‘I’m going to build a hospital today.’ It is important to us to give where we live.”
Starting last March, Telus provided a $100 donation to the hospital in the name of every new Telus TV customer in Vernon, Coldstream, Lavington and Lumby.
“We are so appreciative that Telus is behind the campaign,” said Laurie Postill, Building a Tower of Care co-chairperson.
The donation will go towards equipping and naming the conference room on the ambulatory care floor and the Care by Parent room in the women’s and children’s health services department.
“We are very happy and excited about having the Telus conference room,” said Penny Liao, manager of ambulatory care services at VJH.
“It will give the nursing staff a place to discuss patient care issues and practices as well as a place for education and professional development.”
The room will also be used for teleconferencing and may be used by medical students who are training at the hospital to connect with the UBCO medical school.
Michelle Rotenburger, women’s and children’s health services manager, said the Care by Parent room will allow parents to remain at the hospital with sick children.
Yolanda Short, who is project co-ordinator for the new tower and will return to the position as manager of women’s and children’s health services, is also delighted with the new Care by Parent room.
“We’re often in the position where parents want to be closer to their baby,” she said.
“This will be a place with a bed, bathroom and somewhere they can leave their belongings. We have people who come from other areas who really need something like this to keep the connection of the family unit which is so healthy for compromised babies,” she said.
Short said the Telus donation will have a lasting benefit.
“Generations of families in Vernon have been born in the present building,” she said.
“My three children were born there, and a lot of people have pleasant memories there but we will be able to create the same feeling with more efficient and effective care in the new building.”
