Phot courtesy of the VJH Foundation/website

By Liam Verster

38th Light a Bulb Campaign

Annual Light a Bulb campaign to help build new ultrasound unit

Nov 21, 2024 | 1:26 PM

The Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation (VJH Foundation) is running its winter campaign to support local health care.

The 38th annual Light a Bulb campaign will go towards building a new, state-of-the-art, regional Ultrasound Unit at VJH.

“For 38 years, Light a Bulb has been a beacon of generosity and holiday cheer in Vernon and the surrounding areas,” said Kate McBrearty, Executive Director of the VJH Foundation.

“It’s heartwarming to see our community come together every holiday season to support health care excellence. This year, your contributions will help create a state-of-the-art, regional Ultrasound department, so that we can meet the growing health care needs of our community today – and in the future.”

As part of GivingTuesday, all donations made Dec. 3 will be matched, up to $250,000, from the Vernon-based tekmar Control Systems.

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“GivingTuesday is an annual global movement, aimed at harnessing the generosity and power of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities,” McBrearty said.

“This year, we are excited to give our donors the opportunity to increase their impact because of the community spirit, drive and tremendous generosity of an amazing couple. Together, we’ll be creating a state‐ of‐the‐art regional Ultrasound department at our hospital. Every dollar makes a difference in the lives of people in our community who need access to medical imaging.”

Ultrasound wait times have doubled locally in the past three years, and the Foundation said future projections show the need for ultrasounds will increase by 100 per cent over the next two decades.

“We know that the current Ultrasound department is operating beyond its capacity and we need to address this,” McBrearty said.

“Following our successful expansion of CT scanning services, our next priority is bringing the required ultrasound services to VJH as quickly as possible.”

As part of the expansion, the size of the existing ultrasound rooms will be doubled, the layout will be improved to be more efficient, and two new rooms with two new ultrasound machines will be added to VJH. These upgrades are expected to add more than 5,000 new scans each year.

“This project will create an Ultrasound department with the capacity to meet the needs of patients today, and for the next 20 years,” McBrearty added.

“Extra ultrasound capacity means quicker access, faster diagnoses and better outcomes.”

Donations to the Light a Bulb campaign can be made at the VJH Foundation website, or in person at the organization’s office in the hospital across from the pharmacy.