Calgary Herald
Page B8
Zachary Lott rests comfortably in his father’s arms as his first pair of sunglasses cover his tiny eyes. Granted, his “glasses” are only a drawing on top of a piece of white felt, but that eye mask protects the six-day-old infant’s eyes from the three blue lights over his hospital crib.
These special cribs, called phototherapy beds, are used to quickly lower the amount of bilirubin — the chemical that causes jaundice — in a baby’s body and shorten his or her hospital stay.
It was one piece of equipment bought with the help of a $17,000 cheque Sunridge Mall presented to the Peter Lougheed Centre on Thursday. The hospital will also use the money to buy more breast pumps and digital scales.
“We’ve had this on our wish list for equipment. We would have got it at some point in the future, but (through) getting help from our community friends such as Sunridge Mall, we’re able to purchase them sooner rather than later,” said Dr. Thiru Govender, head of pediatrics at the hospital.
The Calgary Health Trust, which looks after fundraising for the Calgary Health Region, said the donation goes a long way toward buying costly medical equipment.
“It’s a tremendous benefit. This is an example of how the community can play a part in enhancing health care,” said Brian Bowman, the trust’s development officer.
The money was raised through Sunridge Mall’s Lucky Duck Prize Pools and Christmas gift wrap service.
“It’s more a sense of obligation and commitment to the community that we’re doing this,” said mall general manager Michael Mielnichuk. “If we can help out the community in any way, then we’d like to do that.”
About $88,000 has been raised in the past four years of the partnership.
Copyright 2002 CanWest Global
