NEWS RELEASE

 

United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin Provides $37,000 Grant to Help Equip Two New Isolation Rooms at St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph

 

GUELPH, ON – August 12, 2020 – A new $37,000 grant from the United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin is helping to equip and furnish two new isolation rooms at St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph. The rooms are designed to keep the vulnerable population St. Joe’s serves, safe.

An image of an isolation room at St. Joseph's

An Isolation Room at St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph

Not only are isolation rooms essential to caring for current patients and residents at the Health Centre should they exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, but these rooms also provide a dedicated space where individuals who are transferred or newly admitted to St. Joe’s can be quarantined until it’s safe to integrate them into a unit, neighbourhood or group rehabilitation program.

“We know COVID-19 outbreaks can be devastating. Containing active infections immediately is absolutely critical to everyone’s health here at St. Joe’s.  Having dedicated isolation rooms will give us a leg up on the virus and ensure we’re prepared to combat and contain it the next time we are faced with COVID-19 within our walls,” says Dr. Hugh Boyd, Chief of Staff, St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph.  “Our staff worked incredibly hard to contain the first infection we experienced, and together we’re ensuring they have the right tools to continue providing compassionate and exceptional care during this unforgettable period of history. These isolation rooms will help us phenomenally.”

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Teresa Tam recently said the country could be coping with the COVID-19 virus the next two to three years. That’s why St. Joe’s is building 17 new isolation rooms; two in hospital care, two in overnight respite care, and 13 in long-term care. Furnishing and equipping them will require a significant investment at a time when healthcare organizations are already fiscally stretched due to purchasing additional equipment, infection control supplies and personal protective gear in response to COVID-19.

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation is reaching out to the community in an effort to raise $700,000 to help fund the isolation room project. Their efforts just received a $37,000 boost thanks to the recent donation from the United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin.

“We’re so grateful to the United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin for this gift that will help to ensure our isolation rooms are anything but isolating,” says Jennifer Hall, Vice-President, Development at St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation. “These funds will ensure that even when a patient needs to be in one of these rooms for their own safety or the safety of others, they’ll be cared for by our team in a comfortable, beautiful space with all of the mobility supports, infection control supplies, and medical equipment they need.”

This $37,000 grant was mentioned in a recent news release issued by the United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin announcing more than $852,000 in funding for local organizations through the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF).

“In partnership with Community Foundations of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross, our local United Way was pleased to provide this grant from the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund,” says Rick McCombie, interim Executive Director at United Way. “This $37,000 in funding will help to equip two isolation rooms at St. Joe’s with adjustable beds and hospital-grade mattresses, ceiling lifts, IV pumps, EKG machines and more.”

To learn more about how St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation is helping in our community’s fight against COVID-19, please visit www.sjhcg.ca/foundation.

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Media Contact:
Ansley Foreman
Communications Intern
St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation
Ansley.Foreman@sjhcg.ca

519-767-3424