$3m fundraising campaign launched for Hybrid Operating Room
The Friends of the Moncton Hospital Foundation has launched Project: Innovate, a $3 million community fundraising campaign to support the implementation of a hybrid operating room.
The foundation said in a statement released on March 2 that the surgical suite integrates advanced imaging with a fully equipped operating room. This will allow healthcare professionals to diagnose, treat, and operate in the same space at the same time.
The projected cost of the hybrid operating room is $4.3 million, for which the Friends Foundation has set aside $1.3 million. The remaining $3 million is the foundation’s goal for community support.
The new room will honour Dr. John Murphy (1957-2015), who played a pivotal role in supporting and championing the hospital’s vascular surgery program. “Dr. Murphy was a visionary and tireless advocate for innovation and patient care,” Friends Foundation said in the release.
Vascular disease is one of the leading causes of preventable death and disability in Canada.
“When an artery tears or a vessel blocks, we don’t have time to move patients from one room to another. This space will allow us to act instantly — imaging, diagnosing, and operating without delay,” said Dr. André Poirier, a vascular surgeon and donor. “For many of our patients, that difference is life or death.”
At the Moncton Hospital, their two vascular surgeons, Dr. André Poirier and Dr. Christos Lioupis, perform nearly 600 surgical procedures yearly, managing the most complex cases in the region. Patients come from across the Atlantic provinces for procedures at this hospital, according to the foundation.
“This project is about bringing life-saving innovation to the people of our region,” says Frances Leblanc, President and CEO of the Friends Foundation. “This hybrid operating room will allow our hospital’s talented surgical teams to perform the most advanced procedures right here at home — keeping families together when every second counts.”
To learn more about the Friends Foundation or to donate, please visit their website.