Terraceview Lodge is asking for a new piece of sanitation equipment to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sanitation device, called a HubScrub, is a box-shaped device into which a wheelchair can be placed for cleaning by a combination of ultraviolet light and chemicals. It can also be used to clean other equipment.
The Dr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation is collecting donations that could be used to pay for the HubScrub, which costs about $17,000. Heather Bellamy, administrative assistant for the hospital foundation, said her organization hadn’t originally planned to fundraise for a HubScrub this year, but staff at Terraceview Lodge requested one after the pandemic hit.
“This wasn’t one of our projects for 2020 but it just came up as something that they would really appreciate,” she said, noting the HubScrub purchase has yet to be officially approved by Northern Health.
Staff at Terraceview Lodge don’t currently have an efficient method of disinfecting large items like wheelchairs or walkers.
“Basically right now they’re using cloths to wipe down these items, which very time-consuming,” Bellamy said. “You’re hoping for great coverage, but if you’re in a rush, you don’t know.”
The hospital foundation is running a fundraising campaign through May, called the Greatest Need COVID-19 Fund, which seeks to raise $10,000. This money could go toward a HubScrub, if approved. The campaign is hosted on a charity website, canadahelps.org, which is matching donations until the end of April.
Bellamy said the hospital foundation is also raising funds toward the purchase of a new bathtub for seniors to use at the Sunshine Centre at Terraceview Lodge. The new tub will cost $47,000, and the hospital foundation still needs $42,000 to cover that cost. Once that tub is purchased, renovations such as new flooring can begin in the bathing room at the Sunshine Centre.
The hospital foundation recently purchased a $40,000 pathology microscope for Mills Memorial Hospital, replacing equipment that was nearly 30 years old. Bellamy said a new pathologist recently arrived at the hospital, which had gone without a pathologist for four years. The pathologist frequently needs to consult with her colleagues elsewhere in the province, but the dated equipment got in the way.
“She’s having to juggle some really low-end technology to try to get her images through to [her colleagues,]” Bellamy said. “This new machine has the highest definition, and a big computer screen, and they can be talking and sending these images in real-time.”
jake.wray@terracestandard.com
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