Campaign ensures that optimal emergency gynecological surgery will be available around the clock
Thanks to HSC Foundation donors, emergency surgical care with bestin-class technology will now be available 24/7.
A campaign to upgrade existing surgical equipment for gynecology reached its $105,000 goal in early January. The funds will allow HSC to update software in HSC Women’s Hospital, effectively making an additional room available for all manner of scheduled and emergency gynecological surgeries. Funds will also be used to purchase an equipment bundle, specific to gynecological uses, that can be used with an existing laparoscopic tower in an operating room in the main hospital building. This means that emergency surgical care with best-in-class technology will now be available 24/7.
“Above all, this is about patient safety,” says HSC Gynecologic Oncologist Dr. Erin Dean. “These investments by donors support minimally invasive surgery, which represents the highest standard of care. The technology means we can work with smaller incisions, which means less risk of herniation and infection. The equipment allows surgeons to have much better visualization during surgery, which leads to greater precision. The new software and equipment allow us to provide exceptional emergency surgical care, without compromise, at any time of day or night.”
Emergency gynecological surgeries include procedures for ovarian torsion (when the ovary twists around the tissue that supports it) and ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus). Sometimes, these surgeries can be scheduled, but often these conditions require immediate attention.
HSC Gynecologic Oncologist Dr. Erin Dean: “…the new software and equipment allow us to provide exceptional emergency surgical care, without compromise, at any time of day or night.”
“Not only did the Foundation’s campaign make these specific upgrades possible, it shone a spotlight on the unique nature of women’s health,” says Dr. Dean. “The fact that donors understood this and responded generously is gratifying and important for the future of women’s health care in Manitoba.”
The campaign was led by Katie Hall Hursh, a member of the HSC Foundation’s volunteer community Board and Chair of the Fundraising Committee.
“I am positively thrilled, but not at all surprised, by the success of the gynecology campaign,” says Hursh. “Once again, Manitobans—many of whom were first time donors to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation—have proven the depths of their generosity. Because of them, women from all over our province will have access to timely, state-of-the-art surgical care when they need it.
