December 12, 2012
Story by Kerri Robins; Photo by Tom Gillespie
It turns out Pincher Creek hockey players have something in common with Pincher Creek Health Centre patients.
It’s heart disease and stroke – something that has affected many people either directly or indirectly. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, every seven minutes in Canada, someone dies from heart disease or stroke.
So when Pincher Creek resident Dan Crawford suggested a marathon hockey game to raise money for the cause, the community skated in with a big assist from the Windy Slopes Health Foundation.
Introducing the LifePak 15, a compact, lightweight, portable defibrillator/monitoring device that determines when the heart has stopped beating. The device delivers an electric shock to jumpstart the heart and at the same time simultaneously monitors different vital signs.
“Right now, we might be looking at four different monitors for a severely ill patient, particularly those being prepped for transport,” says Dr. Gavin Parker, an anesthetist and general practitioner with Associate Clinic in Pincher Creek.
“The LifePak 15 is an enhanced model to what we currently use and can display all the information we need at once on a single screen, speeding up patient readiness for transport. And its portability lets us use it in surgical suites, emergency or the acute-care floor.”
A whopping $27,000 later, Pincher Creek Health Centre is getting a LifePak 15 and putting heart and stroke disease in the penalty box.
“We’re really grateful to the community and the Foundation for stick-handling this project for us,” says Parker.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to partner with citizens and this event was a tremendous win with huge benefits for patients and the larger community,” says Donna Schauerte, Chair, Windy Slopes Foundation. “We’re so thankful for the money this event raised.”
And the man who started all this agrees.
“Athletes understand the importance of this device and I couldn’t think of a more fun way to raise money,” says Crawford.
“We were the walking wounded – tired, sore, and beat up when the game was over – it was great!”
Now that’s a major power play for Pincher Creek Health Centre patients and community.
