Donor Impact

The Healing Waters of Rehab

Every year thousands of people from around BC come to Holy Family Hospital for physical rehabilitation services. The hydrotherapy pool plays a vital role in the rehabilitation process for people working to regain lost mobility and independence as a result of hip and knee joint replacements, strokes, and crippling arthritic conditions.

The water’s buoyancy supports patients’ weight and injured limbs as they exercise, without placing unnecessary stress and pressure on joints and recovering limbs. The warm water helps improve circulation, relax muscles and decrease stiffness in joints and muscles.

Thanks to generous international contributions to Tapestry Foundation, extensive renovations were undertaken in 2010 to make the pool at Holy Family Hospital safer and more accessible for an increasingly frailer population, and to increase the capacity of clients served at the pool.

“Inpatient and outpatient groups are in the pool twice at day,” says physiotherapist Kathy Petts. “With the increased capacity, we can accommodate more patients and do so much more in the pool with them. They can walk and exercise freely without crowding one another.”

The Breathe of Life
Respiratory therapy in patient care

Respiratory Therapy is crucial to patient care at Mount Saint Joseph (MSJ) Hospital. And respiratory therapists (RT) like Alexis Ciuk rely on their training, instincts and state-of-the-art equipment to keep patients breathing – the first step on the road to recovery.

If a patient isn’t breathing, an RT’s first priority is to make that happen. Alexis is often called upon to put a patient on a ventilator - or “breathing machine” – that requires inserting a tube into the patient’s throat, a process called “intubation.” The tube is then connected to a ventilator that supplies oxygen while the patient is unable to breathe independently.

For patients who are overweight or have physical abnormalities in their airways, and/or patients who have restricted neck mobility may be at risk of a difficult airway situation. A difficult airway intubation cart containing specialized equipment is used to deal with these circumstances. The cart contains an instrument with a light at the end, and another with both a light and a miniature video camera at the end, to guide the procedure. A screen on the cart shows exactly what the camera sees.

Tapestry Foundation supported the purchase a difficult airway intubation cart for emergency care at MSJ through proceeds from the 3rd annual Scotiabank Feast of Fortune fundraising event.

Music for the moment

It was a magical performance for Langara residents the day Bramwell Tovey sat down at the piano to play. The famed Vancouver Symphony Orchestra conductor visited St. Vincent’s Hospital Langara in July 2010 as a special guest of the Health Arts Society’s “ArtsWay Program”.

It wasn’t an afternoon at the symphony. Just simply Mr. Tovey, musician, connecting and conversing with a group of seniors through the piano. He played popular wartime tunes, and sacred hymns like Amazing Grace. Classical works by Beethoven and some of his favourite songs from the 40’s were also a part of the repertoire. In between each piece, he stopped and took the time to talk with his audience.
“It was like an intimate soiree in someone’s home,” said Leah Rosling, music therapist at the site. “Mr. Tovey was warm and generous and seemed to truly care about everyone having a good time.”

Tapestry Foundation provides funding for regular ArtsWay Programs, and other quality of life programs offered throughout Providence Health Care’s residential care community.