When you've suffered a neurological event like a stroke or heart attack timely treatment is key.
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation has announced the focus of its latest fundraising campaign is leading-edge equipment that will help patients with a variety of neurological conditions, including stroke, epilepsy, MS Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. The Foundation hopes to raise $405,000 to fund 23 pieces of equipment to help treat these patients.
Dr. Paul Winston, Medical Director for Rehab and Transitions for Island Health says in order to successfully rehabilitate patients, they would need an army of health care professionals.
"So we have all sorts of adaptive equipment such as the parallel bars for them to walk. We can suspend them from a sling from the ceiling to keep them upright so they don't fall. We can use equipment like the new step if they can only bike with one side of their body and we use other devices to help them stand and to take about 50 per cent of their weight off of the therapist or nurse so the patient can get in and out of bed."
Dr. Winston says getting patients up and moving can save thousands of dollars a day in health care costs down the road.