The Hospital is rich with history of service to the community and was proudly celebrated throughout 2013 during our Centennial Year. Being of service to the community remains at the heart of our operations as we turn to the future, where the master plan for healthcare in our region includes the transition of acute care services to the Comox Valley Hospital in 2017. St. Joseph’s still has at least 4 years to meet all of the healthcare needs of a growing population and aging demographic and we need your help.

Today, the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation continues its time-honoured tradition of sharing and spreading the message of compassion by reaching out this time of year to encourage your support. Looking at the year ahead, much is needed to improve and invest in new technology and equipment in order to continue to better service you, our community.

Reflecting on the past 100 years, St. Joseph’s General Hospital has served the Comox Valley and surrounding communities proudly by offering an array of services from emergency response, surgeries and outpatient procedures, to residential care, maternity and rehabilitation. Within each of these departments there is an impressive range of technology and equipment to carry out the daily hospital functions. Yet, continual advancement in medicine and new discoveries in better healthcare practices will give rise to increasing demands for hospitals to expand upon and improve its current services. With that demand comes a growing need to upgrade equipment in order to stay abreast of current medical trends and treatment.

Fortunately every year, the generosity of the community has responded. Because of the support from the community St. Joseph’s has been able to make valuable and timely purchases to fulfill healthcare needs of this region. A wonderful example is the new patient care clinic that is being created at St. Joseph’s. The clinic will combine cystoscopy and colposcopy services. The increased need for services in Urology, and has now led to greater efficiency and patient care within that department. “The new clinic will help reduce wait times, increase patient safety, improve emergency and in patient access to Cystoscopy. In addition, there will be a urologist present in the Hospital available for consultations and care.” Dr. Will Tinmouth and Dr. Aaron Clark – Urologists at St. Joseph’s General Hospital. The support from the 100 Years 100 needs community campaign helped to purchase some of the urology equipment needed.

For 2013/14, St. Joseph’s has earmarked several more capital expenditures. Not all the needs are as glamorous as leading-edge technology but are equally vital to the patient’s care experience.

Next year the hospital wishes to invest in upgrades to the ER waiting room and to refurbish rooms in The Views. These are just two fine example of where improvements to patient comfort can make an experience less daunting and far more pleasant for patients, residents and families alike.

Approximately 23,400 patients come through Emergency Room doors each year. To keep pace with the high traffic volume experienced in this area, new furnishings, including waiting room chairs and stretchers are necessary to improve the comfort of the patients and those who wait with them.

“Unexpected events can abruptly land a person in the hallways and waiting rooms of a hospital’s ER. These can be moments of high stress, tension and trauma. Our jobs are to enhance the patient, family-care experience in every way possibleby making the environment less daunting, and the surroundings more comforting,” says Jane Murphy, St. Joseph’s President and CEO. “These subtle yet significant improvements can translate into huge benefits for patients and loved ones.”

We are very fortunate to have the quality and diversity of healthcare readily available in this community hospital. It is with the generosity of donors like you that so many services can be delivered throughout the Comox Valley and surrounding communities.