The Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation is putting a personal twist on the 2011 campaign.
Brad Prevedoros, honourary chair this year, spent a couple of years visiting his father in the extended care unit at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
“The care he received was outstanding … I remember looking around the room and thinking ‘if only the room lived up to the care’,” he said. “These things are not extras.”
This year’s campaign, to raise $1 million to complete renovations started in 2004.
And they’re putting a face on it — the late Betty Spence.
Foundation president Lorne Jack recalled a little about Betty Spence during the official launch of the campaign.
Betty and her husband Wally retired to the Saanich Peninsula and quickly became volunteers at the hospital. Betty joined the auxiliary and volunteered in extended care. Wally was the founding president of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation. Betty was also a generous donor, supporting the foundation her husband helped to start. When she was waiting for placement in extended care — which could be anywhere in Greater Victoria — staff asked her for her first choice. Unhesitatingly, she said, “Saanich Peninsula Hospital”. For planning purposes, she was asked for a second choice. Again, without hesitation, she replied, “There is no other choice.”
“In 2004, Betty and many members of the Peninsula community helped to make the first round of renovations in extended care a reality,” Jack said. “They’ve made a huge difference. Overhead lifts, new equipment, new paint, updated bathrooms and infection-resistent window coverings have helped make approximately half of the extended care look and feel more like home. However, many rooms are still stuck in that 1970s look.”
The campaign is off to a good start at $177,000 toward the $1 million mark. About 34 rooms require renovations, alongside some new equipment.
“This is normally not a high-tech area of medicine,” Jack said. “Patient lifts, specialized bathing facilities and electric beds are about as complicated as it gets. However, the needs are still substantial and urgent.”
Despite staff going above and beyond, you notice the threadbare curtains and chipped paint, Prevedoros said.
“I want to ensure that anyone in our community who can no longer live independently has the best. Not just the best staff but the best equipment and facilities,” he said. “We must do this to make the last home of our friends and neighbours as comfortable as possible.”
