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Vernon hospital Light a Bulb campaign smashes fundraising goal

With more than $440K raised, two new ventilators on the way to the hospital’s respiratory department
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Carrie Garrod (left), Paula Mawryczew, Evan Tilt, Alesha Miller of the Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s respiratory therapy team. The 2021 Light a Bulb fundraising campaign well exceeded its goal with $441,500 raised. (VJH photo)

Vernonites were in a giving mood during the 2021 holiday season.

The 34th annual Light a Bulb campaign raised $441,500, well exceeding its fundraising goal. The funds will see the Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s respiratory department receive two needed ventilators, helping to give patients breath and ultimately save lives.

“We are so thankful for the incredibly giving nature of our community members. Together we have had another challenging year of Covid-19, wildfires and floods to name but a few. However the bigheartedness of our North Okanagan residents remains as strong as ever. With their help we continue to support excellence in healthcare for North Okanagan residents,” said Michael Kinghorn, VJH Foundation president and chair of the 2021 Light a Bulb Campaign.

In addition to the ventilators, the medical device reprocessing team will receive the test equipment needed to ensure this breathing equipment is in optimal working condition at all times.

“The Respiratory Therapy Team at VJH would like to dearly thank the community for their gifts that will see us replace two of the older ventilators in our fleet. These new ventilators will help ensure that our hospital has state-of-the-art machines, enabling us to give the best patient care possible,” said Jason Danbrook, respiratory therapy professional practice lead at VJH.

Thanks to the great success of this year’s campaign, the foundation will work with the hospital’s administration and Interior Health to determine other priorities to support with this year’s funds.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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