Celebrating Philanthropy at our Hospital
National Philanthropy Day is a celebration of giving, volunteering and charitable engagement.
It highlights the accomplishments of all those involved in these acts and the difference they make to our society and our world.
On November 15th, National Philanthropy Day 2016, it was our distinct pleasure to host our annual Donor Wall Celebration to celebrate many of Guelph’s own philanthropists and the difference they make in their community through their support of Guelph General Hospital.
The Hospital’s Donor Wall recognizes individuals and organizations who have given significantly to the Hospital, either through one-time gifts, or cumulatively over a number of years. In her opening remarks, Lynda Murray, the Foundation’s Chair said “the wall represents over $40 million of gifts.”
But what is truly significant is the difference these dollars make in the lives of people in the community for whom the Hospital serves.
As Suzanne Bone, CEO of The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital expressed to the dozens of donors who attended the celebration, “donors like you help us save lives and improve health…together with our community. That’s our new purpose statement…because it is really why we do what we do.”
Dr. Samir Patel, GGH’s Chief of Radiology brought this statement to life as he described one patient’s journey at the Hospital.
Dr. Patel described a 54 your old woman who discovered a lump in her breast and within days she was seen at the Hospital’s new Breast Assessment Clinic where she had a mammogram, additional mammogram with specialized views, ultrasound, and biopsy under ultrasound all on one day.
Unfortunately the results of the diagnosis returned news that the lump was in fact a cancerous tumor.
Following this diagnosis, a number of other diagnostic imaging procedures were necessary to determine the best treatment path for this individual patient.
A breast MRI was performed to see if the tumor was attached to the chest wall to decide if she needed chemotherapy treatment before surgery. Fortunately for this patient, it was not and she did not need chemotherapy.
The patient also received a CT scan to look for spread to lungs, liver, and other tissues, then a bone scan using nuclear medicine to look for spread to bone. These results also returned good news to the patient that the cancer had not spread. The treatment path was then confirmed – surgery, to remove the tumor.
Dr. Patel reinforced the significance of philanthropy at the Hospital when he stated “all of these diagnostic services are available locally, within our community, because of the generosity of people like you.”
Following the opening remarks, the celebration moved to the Donor Wall, where 851 names of generous donors are proudly displayed. This year celebrated 41 new donors who were added to the wall as well as 26 donors who were recognized under higher giving levels.
The Celebration concluded with a tour of the Diagnostic Imaging department, where Dr. Patel and Jennifer Meher, the Hospital’s Diagnostic Imaging Manager welcomed donors into the diagnostic imaging rooms to talk more about the some of the pieces of DI equipment and the role they have in patient care at the Hospital.
It is only through generous supporters that the Hospital is able to provide the high level of quality care that people want and expect of their community Hospital. This was clearly illustrated through the sequence of activities at this year’s Donor Wall Celebration.
The Donor Wall Celebration will continue to be an Annual event, taking place on National Philanthropy Day.
