Funding equipment for the Montreal Children’s Hospital Anesthesia Department
The Anesthesia Department is urgently in need of a difficult airway cart (DAW), which allows patients to be intubated in emergency situations during surgery.
Important Equipment Need: Difficult Airway Cart (DAW)
These carts contain specialized intubation equipment to assist the physician in emergency situations whereby the patient may have an anomaly in the trachea, making it difficult to pass the breathing tube.
The anesthesiologist will use it in the operating room, if such a situation were to arise. As a result of prematurity or anomalies of the airway, many infants and children require specialized intubation scopes and intubation equipment to introduce a breathing tube – the lifeline of the patient – prior to anesthesia.
DAWs are currently being used in the ENT and O.R.s with much success. However, with the increasing number of ENT (ear, nose & throat) surgeons, it’s becoming more urgent for the Hospital to add to its fleet and better serve the needs of its patients.
The DAW would help children ranging in age from newborn to 18.
The Montreal Children’s Hospital has asked K4K to commit for the multi-year funding (2 years) of the Difficult Airway Cart. The total cost of the equipment is $300,000.
We also have the opportunity to support the Montreal Children’s Hospital Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic. In 2018, Kurling for Kids made a multi-year commitment of $350,000 to purchase a functional MRI system for the Montreal Children’s Hospital that will help to transform the way neurosurgery is performed on young patients.
The price quoted at the time included certain software components to ensure compatibility with the existing MRI as the need had been on the Hospital’s priority list for a few years. Thanks to the support of Kurling for Kids, the project was able to go ahead and by that time, the Hospital learned that the new technology was fully compatible with the MRI and the additional software was no longer required, resulting in savings of $225,000.
This unexpected surplus has provided an opportunity to help the Children’s realize an important project that has been on its wish list for more than ten years. As a Level 1 Trauma Centre, the Children’s treats thousands of patients with head injuries and concussions each year. Unfortunately, the team lacks sufficient resources to be able to provide the best treatment as efficiently and effectively as they could potentially.
When offered the chance to support good work of the Children’s trauma team, without affecting our future commitments, we felt that this was a way to have a direct impact on patients and make a difference almost immediately. Thanks to Kurling for Kids, more kids suffering from concussions will be seen in a more timely matter, which will result in quicker diagnoses, fewer hospital visits and, most importantly, a quicker return to their normal lives.
We could not pass up this opportunity and hope that everyone who works so hard to make Kurling for Kids a great success each year will share our enthusiasm for this project.
For the 2020 edition, our objective will be to raise funds for an urgently needed airway cart, an urgently needed system that will help to save lives every day in the Children’s operating rooms as well as to ensure the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic has the resources it needs.
By supporting these two amazing and highly-needed projects, Kurling for Kids will continue to fulfill its mission of giving every sick or injured child their best chance!
Funding equipment for the Montreal Children’s Hospital Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic
A Level 1 Trauma Centre, the Children’s is recognized provincially for its expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of concussions in children and adolescents.
Important Service Need: The addition of one full time (FTE) physiotherapist
The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) Program with its Concussion Clinic is a tertiary care ambulatory program that is in keeping with this designation.
From April 1, 2017 April 1, 2018, 4497 patient clinic visits were registered in the MTBI Program/Concussion Clinic. The Clinic operates 240 days/year, with patients requiring anywhere from 3 to 10 follow up visits following their diagnoses, depending on the severity of their injury.
The current complement of two (2) physiotherapists, who are integral members of the MTBI team, is no longer sufficient to keep up with the increasing volume of patients. The resulting wait times are having a negative impact on the team’s ability to intervene early, which is the greatest contributing factor to a positive outcome.
The addition of one full time (FTE) physiotherapist would have an immediate and dramatic effect on the number of patients being treated and the quality of care. Among other things, the physiotherapist plays a key role in clearing patients for return to sports and other recreational activities.
This is an urgent request to ensure that our tertiary care Concussion Clinic is run in a timely manner. Our ability to take patients during the acute phase reduces return visits to the ER and hospitalizations. Timely management and close follow up by the physiotherapist ensures a more positive outcome and reduces secondary complications.
Moreover, this individual will devote a portion of their time to education, developing models for treatment that will be shared across Quebec and Canada, thereby benefiting tens of thousands of other young concussion patients.
The Montreal Children’s Hospital has asked K4K to commit for the multi-year funding (3 years) for the addition of one full time (FTE) physiotherapist for 3 years. The total cost is $300,000. Due to the savings from the Functional MRI, there is a balance of $75,000 left to be funded.
Please visit www.childrenfoundation.com for more information about this incredible hospital