An opportunity to Make a Difference
Covenant Health’s St. Joseph’s General Hospital is a cornerstone of the Vegreville community. It has a proud history dating back to 1910, when the founding Sisters of Charity of Notre Dame d’Evron established the hospital to care for patients in Vegreville and the surrounding areas.
Today, St. Joseph’s General Hospital cares for tens of thousands of patients each year. The hospital provides 24-hour emergency and trauma services, ambulatory care, acute care, palliative care, and a variety of outpatient services, including a cardiac clinic, a hemodialysis program, laboratory services, gynecological services, and physical and occupational therapy services. The hospital also has a specialty in senior’s care.
The community of Vegreville relies on St. Joseph’s General Hospital to provide the highest standard of care to its residents.
In turn, the hospital needs the right people with the right training and technology to deliver this care.
A key component to providing a wide range of emergency services in a rural setting is ongoing education and training.
Rural hospitals see fewer emergency services patients each year. This means less opportunity to practice emergency medicine. The medical team at St. Joseph’s General Hospital needs to be prepared to respond to a wide variety of medical emergencies. Training offsite can be both expensive and time consuming, which is why Covenant Foundation is campaigning to raise $80,000 to build a Medical Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre (simulation centre) at St. Joseph’s General Hospital.
The simulation centre will make it possible for medical staff in Vegreville to participate in simulation-based training at their site. The simulation centre will remove the need for travel, and will make it possible for staff to practice a variety of medical techniques and procedures on a regular basis.
Covenant Foundation is inviting passionate and philanthropic community members, businesses, and organizations to participate in this exciting campaign to improve trauma care in Vegreville. There are many ways to get involved, from sponsorships and corporate gifts to individual donations – we need your support to make the simulation centre a reality.
The Need for Medical Training and Education
The Medical Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre Campaign was initiated after a need was identified for increased medical training and education in Vegreville and the surrounding communities.
Medical simulation provides a safe, low risk environment for training staff. Most importantly, simulation centres have been shown to improve emergency care and patient outcomes.
The proposed simulation centre will serve the entire region, including: Two Hills, Mundare, Lamont, Viking, Vermillion, and Tofield. The impact of this campaign far exceeds the boundaries of Vegreville.
The simulation centre will offer (at least) six multi-disciplinary emergency skills courses each year. The courses will be one to two days in duration, tailored to the requirements of the community, and focused on emergency medicine skills and teamwork.
In addition, community first aid will be offered via the simulation centre for expectant mothers and new parents with a focus on infant first aid and resuscitation.
Creating a simulation centre at St. Joseph’s General Hospital will have a profound and lasting impact on the quality of rural emergency health care in the region.
The Fundraising Goal
Covenant Foundation is campaigning to raise $80,000 to purchase the equipment needed to build and operate a Medical Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre.
On Friday, November 18, 2016, Covenant Foundation will partner with Country 106.5 to present the inaugural St. Joseph’s General Hospital Radiothon, with proceeds directed to the Medical Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre Campaign.
Other fundraising efforts will take place in the community over the next several months, including direct mail campaigns; grant applications, and solicitations for individual donations.