Mike and Marlene Horvath have been supporting healthcare through the Foundation for over 10 years. Each month they provide a gift as contributors to our monthly giving program. They both feel grateful for the quality of care they have received and see their giving as a way to say thank you, while also helping support the best possible care for others in our community.

Last fall, Mike and Marlene decided to make a special gift to support equipment at the hospital. Their generous gift funded the purchase of a set of ureteroscopes for the Urology Department and a vein finder for Medical Imaging.

Digital ureteroscopes are used in surgical procedures by our urology team. The ureteroscope is a long, narrow scope that ends in a point the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. The tip has a high-definition, digital camera that allows a urologist to see images from inside the body with great clarity. It is used for many conditions, including scopes for upper tract urothelial cancer, bladder cancer, kidney tumours, and problematic kidney stones.

Their gift also funded a handheld vein finder for healthcare teams to safely, and less painfully, administer an IV for patients. This can include people who are undergoing cancer treatment whose veins have been damaged, elderly patients whose veins change through the ageing process, as well as young children. The vein finder is used frequently by the medical imaging team and is shared with the cancer care clinic to support IV chemotherapy treatment.

As part of our sincere gratitude to Mike and Marlene, the Foundation was honoured to recognize their gift with a plaque installed on the vein finder as well including their names on the donor wall in the main lobby of the hospital.

Thank you, Mike and Marlene, for your ongoing generous support of great care, close to home.