Message from the President & CEO
April 1, 2020
At London Health Sciences Foundation (LHSF) we are humbled by the incredible response we are seeing from our community. We would like to acknowledge that the gifts we have received are directly supporting our heroes on the front line.
Many patients afflicted by COVID-19 will require intensive critical care in order to save their lives. Intensive care includes special ventilation support, specialized drug administration, advanced nursing care and intensive monitoring. Without the right equipment and resources, London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) staff and physicians cannot meet the needs of these patients.
I am pleased to say that as of this writing, over $275,000 has been raised to support the fight against COVID-19 at LHSC. Your generosity has helped LHSC purchase or secure equipment like the following:
- Glidescopes, which allow for providers to intubate COVID-19 patients more effectively. This device better helps manage their airways, which is a critical need for any patient in intensive care.
- Specially designed intensive care beds, which include special features and functionality that ensure that the specific needs of critically ill patients are met. Critical care patients are immobilized for long periods of time and these beds help reduce the likelihood of development of bed sores among other adverse effects of treatment.
- Ventilators, which help patients who cannot properly breathe on their own by pumping air into their lungs.
At LHSF we are also actively coordinating donations in response to the urgent need for equipment, such as personal protection equipment (PPE), to ultimately ensure the hospital and its staff are getting what they need. For more information about how you can help our front-line heroes click here.
Notwithstanding this outpouring of support, the need continues to grow. Please share this email and links to our COVID-19 Response Fund page with your friends, family and social media community.
We are grateful for the many members from our donor community who are asking how they can help our hospital and our front-line medical professionals; the response is unprecedented.
The health and safety of each member of our community is our highest priority. We encourage everyone in our community to visit our website to learn about other ways of supporting our hospital, and to follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates. Please visit the hospital's website for current information about COVID-19, how to protect yourself and your family, and visitor protocols.
Please continue to stay home and practice physical distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. We will get through this unprecedented public health emergency together.
And finally, thank you to all of our front-line healthcare workers. They are the true heroes working hard to keep us safe and well.
Regards,
John MacFarlane, BBA, LL.B, MPA
President & CEO
London Health Sciences Foundation