Five new vital signs monitors have been delivered to the pediatric ward at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. The state-of-the-art machines help track the blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and blood oxygenation of children both before and after they go in for surgery. Unit manager Dianne Sweetman says the nurses love them so far.
“They’re fast and they’re very accurate. Whereas we only had three old models before, now we have the five new ones so there’s always a monitor available; they’re not having to share as much.”
The units are also portable, meaning patients aren’t stuck in bed. They’ll be moved to the new hospital when it opens.
“It has made a huge difference, not only to the patients, but to the nursing staff,” explains Sweetman. “It makes their job a lot easier and quicker. We want to take this opportunity to thank the community of Grande Prairie as always for being so generous and supporting us and making a difference in the lives of children every day.”
The monitors were bought with the $16,500 raised by the 2day FM Cares for Kids 12-hour radiothon back in December 2015. Canadian Tire alone donated enough to purchase two monitors. The inaugural radiothon in 2014 raised $20,000 to buy a neo-natal incubator for the intensive care unit.
