United Commercial Travelers Help Care for Youngest Patients
Published Saturday, November 30, 2019
The United Commercial Travelers recently presented a donation of $12,000 to help fund the purchase of a new Continuous EEG Monitor for Paediatrics and the NICU. This donation was made possible thanks to their 50/50 Draw which recently wrapped up. Joyce Pavelick of Thunder Bay was the winner with ticket 00237. Over the past 15 years, the United Commercial Travelers have given $63,583 for better healthcare at our Hospital.
The United Commercial Travelers, Thunder Bay Council #1039 recently completed their 50/50 Draw for $12,000.00 on Saturday, November 16th, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. The winning ticket number was 00237 and Joyce Pavelick of Thunder Bay was the winner. The lottery licence number was M807196.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation was delighted to receive the proceeds from the raffle in the amount of $10,671.20, which will be directed to help cover the cost of a new Continuous EEG Monitor for the NICU and Paediatrics. The Board of Directors of the United Commercial Travelers decided to cover all of the costs for this event, so they will also be presenting the Foundation with another cheque in the amount of $1,328.80, making the total donation for this event $12,000.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non invasive monitoring method that records the activity of the brain. It is used to diagnose various disorders of the brain including sleep disorders and seizures and is done by placing electrodes along the scalp which measure the electrical activity of the brain over a set period of time (usually less than 30 minutes). Continuous EEG monitoring adds video monitoring along with the electrode monitoring over a longer period of time. Comparison of electrical activity in the brain, along with visual symptoms allows for more accurate diagnoses and is the gold standard testing for diagnosing specific types of seizures.
For infants, continuous EEG monitoring is required to closely monitor for potential seizure activity in certain high risk infants. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible to accurately identify seizure activity on an infant by visual inspection alone. Failure to recognize seizure activity can prolong the time to treatment and failure to treat seizure activity in an infant can amplify adverse outcomes.
Having continuous EEG monitoring at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre will allow for immediate, confirmed detection of seizure activity and would allow for immediate treatment for our infants. By identifying and treating all seizure activity in a high risk infant, we can significantly reduce potential adverse events and improve the overall outcome for the child.
In addition to having the ability to monitor high risk infants for seizure activity when unstable, the continuous EEG monitor can be used for clinical diagnoses that would otherwise require the child to have to be transferred to a tertiary centre. The system also has the capability to be accessed via a secure portal for which physicians can access and view the data when off site allowing for immediate assessment and treatment, regardless of where the physician is (home, office, etc). The system can also potentially be accessed by our tertiary partners and specialists at London Health Sciences Centre to further assist with diagnoses and treatment of the child without having to transfer them to another facility.
Over the past 15 years, the United Commercial Travelers have given $51,583 and with the added $12,000, their total is $63,583.00!