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COVID-19 Impact Report

We Asked, You Delivered

WE ASKED, YOU DELIVERED.

Download the COVID-19 Impact Report Here

How your support is helping the fight against COVID-19

As Southlake battled the COVID-19 pandemic head-on, we faced unprecedented demand – not just for vital patient equipment, but for the personal protective equipment that our staff needed to safely provide care. We have never depended on our communities more than we have during this challenging time.

We put out an urgent call for help, and the community responded. THANK YOU! In the face of this unprecedented crisis, you rallied by our side with an overwhelming outpouring of support. While our front-line staff have been working tirelessly away from their families to provide the best possible care for yours, your generosity made sure that our communities could continue to depend on Southlake now, and in the future.

You did more than make a difference – you saved lives.

A Message from the Front-line

To all the donors supporting us during this time, we see you, and we appreciate you. Your donations are important, because they help take care of the necessities so we can focus on caring for patients. We’re in this together, and we all have a part to play. With social distancing, more than ever it’s the small acts of kindness that make a difference. COVID-19 has sparked a sense of community, charity and teamwork which has been inspiring and therapeutic – and exactly what we need to overcome this crisis.

In health care, we know that you are only as strong as your team. Your donations keep us strong, healthy and hopeful. Our hearts are full and behind our masks we are smiling.  

-Dr. Nazia Panjwani, Physician, COVID-19 Unit

A Mother’s Gratitude

Will my son thrive without me? Will I ever see my daughter walk down the aisle? These were the questions troubling the mind of a 39-year-old mother of young twins, who tested positive for COVID-19 – the first patient at Southlake to be put on a ventilator in a battle for survival.

“When I arrived at Southlake, I thought I had the common flu. Within two hours, my symptoms changed so drastically that I couldn’t even stand without help. I was intubated for two weeks, and spent an entire month in the hospital, away from my family. Out of love for them, I fought for my life.

But while I fought for my family, you fought for me. COVID-19 stole my ability to breathe. Because of you, I was able to walk out of the hospital and reunite with my husband and my children. Thank you for your generosity and your kind heart. If donors like you hadn’t funded the ventilator saved my life, my five-year-old twins wouldn’t have a mother right now. I wouldn’t be able to see them grow, or see my daughter one day walk down the aisle on her wedding day.”

-Julie Anne, COVID-19 Survivor

The Tools You Invested in to Save Lives

Together with our communities, your thoughtful and generous support helped us raise $2.3 million and counting towards our emergency COVID-19 Action Fund. You made it possible for our front-line staff to provide life-saving care for Julie Anne and more than 850 people like her. Here are just some examples of the difference caring donors like you have made:

  • New ventilators gave COVID-19 Patients the breath of life when they couldn’t breathe on their own.

  • Glidescopes provide controlled intubation for COVID-19 patients with more distance between the patient and their healthcare team, making it safer while providing greater accuracy as they care for the patient.

  • A new portable digital X-Ray enables us to complete diagnostics more quickly and easily and better monitor COVID-19 patients.

  • Access to free internet and technology for all patients at Southlake during the height of COVID-19 helped lessen the emotional impact of visitor restrictions by keeping patients connected with their loved ones 24/7.

Donations of personal protective equipment meant our staff could safely provide care for those in need.

+1,000 face shields

35,400 face masks

9,200 gloves

These Medical Field Tents can house up to 30 patients and were set up as a COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Southlake, increasing our capacity for negative pressure isolation areas to treat . Funded by two generous anonymous donors, this early gift ensured we were able to secure these tents quickly and be well prepared to handle surge capacity at the height of the pandemic.

Since the early days of this pandemic, Southlake’s Emergency Department, in-patient units and COVID-19 Assessment Centre has been diligently providing testing for our communities, with more than 58,700 tests completed as of September 30, 2020.

We now have lab equipment for in-house processing of COVID-19 tests. Instead of sending them away for testing, we have faster results for patients right here at Southlake, keeping them and our communities safe and providing peace of mind. And, you are helping make us even more effective than before: this equipment can also support other lab tests that we couldn’t previously do on-site long after the pandemic is over.

Rapid testing kits were also funded, which are used to support patients with urgent testing needs, such as patients in need of emergency surgery. For example, imagine being a woman in labour with one or more symptoms.

Before these test kits, newborns would have to undergo COVID-19 testing if a mom’s results were pending. Now newborns no longer have to undergo this test, and concerns can be alleviated quickly or care plans adjusted accordingly. This was also helpful for dad’s who had one or more symptoms, to ensure their safety before allowing them to be present for the birth of their child.

Thanks to you and other compassionate donors, we also purchased a second piece of rapid testing equipment to double our testing capacity.

A special note of thanks to the hundreds of donors who give to Southlake each month: you played a critical role in funding this equipment, and our successful response to COVID-19. Because of you and your sustaining gifts, we were able to be flexible early and adapt to identify and support the most critical equipment needs before the height of the pandemic affected patient volumes at our hospital.

By Our Side: Our Communities Coming Together

Our communities have gone the extra mile to show their support in many ways – from thank you cards to Honk for Healthcare parades, public displays like the NewRoads and Neal Brothers community lawn sign fundraiser, and months of free coffee, tea and donuts for staff, generously offered at all Newmarket Tim Hortons locations! Many individuals and local businesses also provided individually packaged food and non-perishable snacks, including York Regional Police Association, who donated free meals and snacks for all of Southlake’s staff for one full day, providing much-needed comfort and support so they could continue to be strong for their patients.

“

As a leadership volunteer with Southlake Foundation, it was with immense pride and gratitude that I watched our communities come together to support Southlake in so many different ways. Together, we rallied to do right by our hospital, the front-line workers, and our family, friends and neighbours who have depended on them more than ever before. It is heartwarming to see that during this time, when our hospital has faced unprecedented demand, that our communities have rallied to be by their side, so they can stay by ours.”

Peter van Schaik, Vice Chair, Southlake Foundation Board of Directors and Philanthropy Cabinet

W5’s Avery Haines goes inside Southlake’s coronavirus intensive care unit to look at the front line battle against COVID-19.