As we celebrate the beginning of a new year and a new decade, lists profiling the highlights of the last ten years are flooding the airwaves, television news programs, and newspapers. All of this provides us with an opportunity to pause and reflect on the changes and accomplishments in our lives. At St. Joseph’s, I have seen, first hand, the tremendous change occurring in our health care system. It gives me great pleasure to thank you for your gift in 2009 and share some of those changes brought about last year as a result of your generosity.

In early 2009, St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation granted $7.3 million to support care programs across St. Joseph’s, capital improvements, new technology, and medical research at Lawson Health Research Institute. This was one of the largest grants in the history of our foundation. What is most impressive, however, is the tangible difference your support is making in human terms.

In the last year, we celebrated the opening of several new program areas including the Urgent Care, Urology and Diabetes Education Centres, the Ivey Eye Institute, and new palliative care beds for Veterans. These new facilities offer patient-centred environments with comprehensive services for initial consultations, testing and procedures. The areas are comfortable, bright and spacious, providing privacy for families and the comforts of home for residents when they need it the most.

There is no doubt that today, sophisticated, cutting-edge technology is central to the delivery of care. It is also what our community has come to expect from St. Joseph’s. From diagnosing disease in its earliest form, to providing minimally-invasive surgical procedures, state-of-the-art equipment is critical to the work we do. Over the last year, many compelling stories have been shared with me about new technology - supported by donors like you - and the difference it makes to the lives of patients and residents.

Here is just one story illustrating the impact a machine can have on a loved one’s life. It relates to the recently installed Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine (MRI) at St. Joseph’s:

A 28-year old female from St. Thomas was referred by her physician with a large lump under her arm. Within one week, she was scheduled for an ultrasound and an MRI at St. Joseph’s on the new MRI. The MRI detected cancer in both breasts. However, because the cancer was localized to the breasts and diagnosed early, a mastectomy was not required and the patient is undergoing chemotherapy. Her prognosis for recovery is positive.

This patient was just one of hundreds of individuals who now have increased access to specialized MRI. This technology would not be in our community were it not for the generosity of donors.

The future of health care is dependent upon new discovery and research. St. Joseph’s Lawson Health Research Institute is one of Canada’s largest hospital-based research institutes, and a core part of the foundation’s funding mandate. In 2009, $10 million in donor support through the Foundation established three new endowed research positions of great significance in the areas of diabetes, urogenital health and probiotic sciences. With this funding in place, leading research teams will translate new discoveries to bedside care - both at home and around the world.

St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation also played host to some very special guests who learned of our research and clinical care leadership in their areas of interest.

Senator Roméo Dallaire (Canadian and former head of the UN forces in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide) shared his experience with post-traumatic stress during our 2009 Breakfast of Champions. Following the sold-out event, he spent time with Parkwood Hospital’s Operational Stress Injury (OSI) clinic team. The OSI team is a highly-specialized group of caregivers who lend support and counsel to Canada’s soldiers returning from theatres of conflict such as Afghanistan.

Most notably, we were honoured to welcome 1984 Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu to our 2009 Signature Speaker Series. During his visit, this remarkable man of peace spent time learning about St. Joseph’s clinical and research leadership in the fields of AIDS and infectious diseases. This world figure heard of our Lawson researchers and their use of probiotic cultures in yogurt to treat the debilitating symptoms of AIDS for those in Tanzania, Africa.

Last September, Tribute 2009 featured the moving stories of people in our community who received care at St. Joseph’s and are making remarkable contributions to our community.

Many, many individuals and corporations supported our active event program in 2009. In doing so, they directly impacted the delivery of care to patients and residents. Proceeds from these events helped to complete fundraising efforts for the da Vinci robotic surgical system and for new mammography equipment for our women’s health program.

As the year came to a close, the pink lights of the 20th annual Season of Celebration brightened the grounds of St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. Foundation supporters embraced the holiday season and responded overwhelmingly to our year-end campaign for medical equipment, donating over $420,000. Gifts were made in honour of loved ones, friends, teachers and caregivers and each one had an impact on patient care. Projects supported through this campaign ranged from ventilators for the care of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit; pressure-reducing mattresses for veterans; to bedside tables for the residents of Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care.

Your support is critical to our work at St. Joseph’s and to the health care system we enjoy in London. Patients and residents at St. Joseph’s have access to new medical technology and updated care items thanks to your support through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation. On behalf of the patients and residents who benefit from your generosity, I extend our sincere gratitude for your support in 2009.

With warmest thanks,

MICHELLE M. CAMPBELL
President & CEO

P.S. In late 2009, the St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation launched this new website. Keep up to date with happenings at St. Joseph’s, and access health information through our wellness magazine, Vim & Vigour. Bookmark us and share this website with friends by clicking "share/save" below.