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Current Equipment Needs

Thanks to Donors like you, throughout the course of 2023-2024 fiscal year the Foundation made funding commitments totalling more than $1,800,000.00!

  • Lumify Ultrasound Unit

    A point-of-care cardiac ultrasound unit, the Lumify, is an important piece that will be available in our new Cardiac Rapid Assessment Clinic and Stress Echocardiography Service.
    Help fund this equipment piece

    Lumify Ultrasound Unit

    A point-of-care cardiac ultrasound unit, the Lumify, is an important piece that will be available in our new Cardiac Rapid Assessment Clinic and Stress Echocardiography Service. The Lumify, is a portable cardiac ultrasound probe that plugs into a tablet, making it easy to perform a bedside ultrasound. Currently, patients must obtain a requisition for this service and then wait for an appointment, which can take weeks or even months. Following the appointment, the patient waits for a call with their results, which is another appointment that could lead to their change in medical therapy, lifestyle, or more imaging tests.  This state-of-the-art technology speeds up diagnosis, ensuring the patient not only receives a follow-up appointment but a diagnostic test all in one visit. This leads to quicker access to results, fewer trips to the hospital meaning fewer appointments and more accessible continuous points of care.  

  • Echo Flex Ultrasound Bed

    The Echo Flex Ultrasound bed is ergonomically safe for our sonographers here at our Health Centre, which will prevent less workplace injuries.
    Help fund this equipment piece

    Echo Flex Ultrasound Bed

    The Echo Flex Ultrasound bed is ergonomically safe for our sonographers here at our Health Centre, which will prevent less workplace injuries. This bed has the ability to position patients safely and comfortably and it is easy to clean which aids in infection control. The unique features of this bed, includes double cardiac cut outs to promote diagnostic cardiac pictures and patient comfort. It also has a trendeleburg function for emergency situations.  This will be a positive addition to our Cardiac Care Assessment Unit, once it is in place here at our Health Centre.   

  • OmiVista Mobii

    The OmiVista Mobii is an interactive projection system that is portable and height adjustable that can be used on floors in hallways, in patient rooms or on tabletops.
    Help fund this equipment piece

    OmiVista Mobii

    The OmiVista Mobii is an interactive projection system that is portable and height adjustable that can be used on floors in hallways, in patient rooms or on tabletops. Visual and aural sensory stimuli have shown to maintain and improve language and communication skills, physical coordination and ability, and emotional health and well-being to those in care settings. Studies have shown that recreational activities in long term care, rehabilitation and transitional care settings can positively impact the well-being of patients. Interactive activities that the Mobii would provide would promote a social and welcoming environment for patients, which would help decrease feelings of isolation and loneliness. This would also help reduce depression, agitation, anxiety, and cognitive decline. The Mobii is tailored specifically to those who may be suffering from cognitive decline or impairment to severe stage Dementia. The nostalgic themed activities and music in the care suite will stimulate conversation and reminiscing. The care suite is designed to include all the elements necessary to stimulate, engage, relax and provide opportunities for individual or group enjoyment. Because the device is portable it will allow us to include patients who may not be able to leave their rooms as well. 

  • Fetal Monitor

    CEHHC’s Women & Children’s Health team will deliver over 500 babies this year.  The replacement of their Fetal Monitoring system ($35,892.50/unit) is the team’s number one priority.
    Help fund this equipment piece

    Fetal Monitor

    CEHHC’s Women & Children’s Health team will deliver over 500 babies this year.  The replacement of their Fetal Monitoring system ($35,892.50/unit) is the team’s number one priority. Our current monitors are 12+ years old and have reached the end of their service life.

    Our Women and Children’s Health Unit offers patients and families increased space, privacy and family time. Women who come to the hospital in labor are cared for in private LBRPs -- Labor - Birth - Recovery - Postpartum rooms.  Our six LBRPs were the first in Nova Scotia and are well-designed, spacious, well-lit rooms, each with an ensuite bathroom.  The mothers-to-be now labor, give birth, and stay for one to three days postpartum in these rooms.  Babies room in with mom, and there is room for one other person (typically her partner) to overnight, keeping the family unit together.

    In order to safely provide the care to our families who present to our unit in labor, specialized equipment, such as a fetal health monitor, is required. Fetal health monitors provide a way to check the heart rate of the baby (fetus) during labor. The heart rate is the standard of care to evaluate if a baby is doing well and it can provide information on a baby in distress. All staff on the Women and Children have recently completed updated education on Fetal Health Surveillance in Labor and having a well-functioning monitor will aid in the best and safest care for moms and babies in Colchester. The assessment and interpretation of the data enables our team to make timely and appropriate clinical interventions as required. Best practice and safe patient care remain the highest priorities by our team when caring for our families.  These monitors are used in the early labor lounge as well as in the five-labor birth recovery postpartum (LBRP) rooms to monitor the heart rate of the laboring mom’s baby.

    With our annual birth numbers, we should, ideally, have a monitor in each labor room (6) and (2) in our assessment/ triage area. Our current monitors, used daily for assessments on the unit, are obsolete. While they are currently functioning, we are no longer able to purchase parts for repairs. When one monitor is out of service it leaves one room/patient unable to be covered. To date we have been able to purchase five new units but at least one-two more.

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Dear Friends;

The Colchester East Hants Health Centre Foundation has been funding critical enhancements at your hospital for over 35 years. The Foundation can fund vital equipment because of the support of people like you. People who understand the challenges faced by patients and healthcare providers alike.

That’s why the Foundation is excited to fund a new Cardiac Rapid Assessment Clinic and Stress Echocardiography service with a commitment of approximately $308,000, ensuring that patients requiring a stress echocardiogram will have access to this specialized care sooner and here at home.

Donors have already committed funding for two new stress testing treadmills and a new ultrasound bed/stretcher at a combined cost of approximately $102,000 but two other key pieces of equipment are still needed: a new echocardiography unit and a Lumify portable ultrasound system. These two equipment items have a price tag of approximately $206,000 and we hope that you will consider making a financial investment and help us reach our fundraising goal.

With the absence of a clinic in Truro, patients travel to Halifax, the closest location offering the specialized services of Stress Echocardiography. Stress Echocardiography (stress echo) is an essential cardiac service. It is non-invasive and combines the cardiac stress test (using the treadmill) with an echocardiogram cardiac ultrasound which allows physicians to check the heart’s electrical conductivity and the heart’s structure and function, leading to quick, real-time information which helps to decrease the time to obtain a result and fast-tracks the plan of care. The cost for a new echocardiography unit is approximately $196,000.

The test takes approximately 30 minutes, but patients must currently wait until an appointment is available in Halifax. If the patient is in hospital, they continue to occupy a bed until they receive clearance to be discharged. For our hospital, which is dealing with overcrowding and a lack of available beds, this delay has a ripple effect on other programs and services.

A point-of-care cardiac ultrasound unit, the Lumify, is another important piece of equipment for the clinic. The Lumify, is a portable cardiac ultrasound probe that plugs into a tablet, making it easy to perform a bedside ultrasound. Currently, patients must obtain a requisition for this service and then wait for an appointment, which can take weeks or even months. Following the appointment, the patient waits for a call with their results, which is another appointment that could lead to their change in medical therapy, lifestyle, or more imaging tests.

This state-of-the-art technology speeds up diagnosis, ensuring the patient not only receives a follow-up appointment but a diagnostic test all in one visit. This leads to quicker access to results, fewer trips to the hospital meaning fewer appointments and more accessible continuous points of care.

Today, I am writing to you with the opportunity to invest in the well-being of your community, and maybe even your own well-being. The opportunity to establish this new Cardiac Rapid Assessment Clinic and Stress Echocardiography service is not only exciting, it is necessary. Our team is looking forward to making this important service available, here at home, and to having a positive impact on the lives of their patients. You can help make it possible. Every dollar counts.

If you are able, please join me and make a gift today in support of our Cardiac Rapid Assessment Clinic. If you have received this request after recently making a gift, please accept my thanks.

Sincerely,

Sharon Crowe

Executive Director

P.S. Did you know that statistics show that heart failure admissions are on the rise in Nova Scotia hospitals? In 2022, there were more than 273 Emergency Department visits with heart failure, with the median length of hospital stay of eight days. One in five patients with heart failure are typically readmitted to hospital within a month of discharge, and nearly half of these patients have a mortality rate of five years following diagnosis. You and I can help. We can help ensure that timely access to care and diagnosis is available to help improve these odds. Should appeal donations exceed the current amount needed, or if priority needs change, your gift will be used to fund other priority equipment or patient care enhancements for your health centre.

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