In The News
Enhanced cardiac care at RMH made possible with a generous donation
October 10, 2022: Cardiac patients visiting the 3W Surgical Unit at Ridge Meadows Hospital will now have access to world-class care with the addition of a Telemetry Central Monitoring Station. This life-saving addition has been made possible thanks to a generous $200,000 donation by the Ron & Alma Jones Family Foundation.
The machine was officially opened on October 7 with long-time residents and owners of West Coast Auto Group, Ron & Alma Jones, in attendance, accompanied by their children and grandchildren. In 1959, Alma was one of the first nurses at Ridge Meadows Hospital.
The portable station allows for the continuous remote monitoring and recording of a patient’s heart rhythm/patterns and oxygen saturation. While in the hospital, the device automatically transmits the information to a central monitor, where it is reviewed by a telemetry nurse who is specially trained to monitor and interpret the heart rhythm/patterns.
The station will allow patients needing cardiac monitoring to be cared for and monitored upstairs instead of solely in the ICU. Adding a central monitor to the 3W nursing station and telemetry training will allow 3W to independently provide efficient and safe care to their cardiac patients. It will also provide them with the knowledge and experience to recognize early warning signs of a worsening cardiac status. The capacity for cardiac patients requiring telemetry monitoring has also increased from seven beds to 13.
Not only will the machine benefit between an anticipated 400 to 500 patients annually, but its installation has resulted in the implementation of a new ECG Arrhythmia Interpretation training course utilized not only by 3W medical and surgical nurses but also within those within the Fraser Health Authority as a whole.
As Emily Horton, Clinical Nurse Educator in the telemetry unit, shared, “Our program is now being used in Hope already, and it’s being used in Abbotsford. They are rolling it out in a few different areas to get those nurses one step up. And we have a few nurses that loved it so much that three of them are already going to ICUs.”
We appreciate the Ron and Alma Jones Family Foundation for making a considerable and lasting impact on cardiac care at Ridge Meadows Hospital.
Click HERE for coverage from the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News.