Fundraising for Barrhead’s annual Tree of Hope campaign officially kicked off for the holiday season Nov. 13.
The goal for the Healthcare Center this year is a total of $22,500, but this amount is not going towards just one new item for the hospital. Instead, the funds will be put towards the purchase of two.
“This year we didn’t have one big item, so we thought we would get two smaller ones,” said Healthcare Center site manager Lois Burletoff.
Item number one is a Vein Viewer, a piece of equipment that, to put it simply, lights up where a patient’s veins are. The device uses harmless near-infrared light and other patented technologies to project a digital image of a patient’s vein directly onto the surface of their skin.
Starting an I.V. can be difficult, time consuming, and frustrating for nurses and physicians. Not to mention an uncomfortable experience for any patient.
Because intravenous starts are so common, Burletoff said the hospital decided on the Vein Viewer since it’s something that can be used by everyone, on everyone.
“We can use it in different departments. The nurses can use it, the doctors can use it,” she said. “It goes from babies to adults.”
Although the Vein Viewer isn’t something the hospital has to have, Burletoff said if they are able to raise the money it would be nice to have.
“We can still do our jobs with what we have, but this will just give a little extra,” she said. “It’s not a really big ticket item, but it’s something that everybody can use.”
The second item the hospital is interested in is a Jaundice Meter, a non-invasive way to provide a direct reading for total serum bilirubin.
The small, handheld device offers a gentle and pain-free alternative to traditional jaundice screening, which involves blood tests on the infants. Eliminating the need to draw blood removes major stress from both fragile babies and their parents.
“Instead of doing a blood test, they’ll put the Jaundice Meter on the forehead or on the sternum,” said Burletoff. “They don’t have to keep poking to get more information.”
In addition to the comfort of babies, the Jaundice Meter is a much quicker alternative for testing as it captures data instantly. Results are available in a matter of seconds, rather than the hours it takes for blood testing.
This will not only eliminate time-consuming blood draws, but cut down on the scheduling of lab work and processing costs.
The cost of the Vein Viewer is approximately $15,000, and the cost for the Jaundice Meter is about $7,400.
The Tree of Hope sits on the west side of the hospital, across from IGA. A $10 donation will buy one lightbulb, and $250 buys one ornament. As bulbs are purchased, strings of lights will be added to the tree.
There are also three categories of starts that can be purchased; gold stars for $2,500, silver stars for $1,000, and bronze stars for $500. However all donations of any amount are greatly appreciated, and will be displayed in the hospital.
Donations, which will be accepted until Jan. 2014, can be mailed to the hospital or left at the admitting desk. For more information call Glenna Sheridan or Lois Burletoff at 780-305-3341.
