Left to Right: Dr. Michael Atherstone (Chief of Anesthesiology), Dr. Tom Woods (Orthopedic Surgeon) and Dr. Alex Blais (Anesthesiologist)
One of the priorities of the Comox Valley Hospital is to significantly increase the number of hip and knee surgeries being performed this year. Currently the wait list for surgery is between 18 and 24 months. With funding available from the provincial government, one of the strategies to meet this goal will be to open a 4th operating room.
This will to help reduce that wait time to 26 weeks or less, a reduction of up to 70%!
But having a new fully equipped operating theatre also means we need additional equipment. And that means additional funding, not only for the operating rooms but also for the Rehabilitation Department that supports all major surgeries done at our hospital.
The post-op rehab experience is intense. New technology and specific pieces of equipment are vital to successful health outcomes for our patients.
Specialized equipment is used by physical and occupational therapists to assist in recovery and transitioning back into life at home. Our goal is to provide patients with timely access to equipment for rehabilitative treatment, starting with the critical period immediately after surgery and the 2-hour appointments they need twice weekly thereafter. The therapy they receive and the education on precautions, exercise and home support all work together to help patients return to living their regular lives as quickly as possible.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to augment our total joint arthroplasty services at the Comox Valley Hospital. We have always had an extraordinary team at St Joseph’s hospital, and now the CVH, from support staff, to nursing, physiotherapy, and home support services, which allowed us to provide enviable peri-operative and operative care, but the challenge has been resources to provide access to timely care to adequately meet the needs of our ever expanding population. This total joint initiative will significantly improve our capacity to continue to provide the high level of care our patients deserve, with the goal of decreasing wait times for initial consultation, provide patients with early education as to conservative management options for arthritis, and earlier access to operative solutions to significantly improve the quality of their lives”
– Tom Woods, Orthopedic Surgeon
Your help is needed by Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation to raise $500,000 toward new technology and equipment for a fourth surgical suite at North island Hospital-Comox Valley. Please help to enhance the quality of healthcare, close to home.
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