Access to leading edge care for moms and babies increases at Southlake through outstanding community investment.
Newmarket, ON – When a baby is born at Southlake, every decision, every treatment and every moment of care is designed to lead in one direction – home. Thanks to an outpouring of support from community donors, new moms and dads coming to Southlake will have increased access to the latest equipment and advanced monitoring technology for the newest additions to their families.
On September 10, 2024, Southlake Foundation, alongside Lead Community Volunteers Chris and Wendy Neal, their family, donors, and Southlake leadership and staff, celebrated the successful completion of the Homeward Campaign in support of Southlake’s Maternal Child Program. The campaign, which launched in 2022, aimed to raise $2 million for critically needed equipment in Southlake’s Birthing Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Thanks to the generosity of community donors, the campaign has come to a close, astoundingly raising more than $2.5 million, surpassing the $2 million fundraising goal.
“We are so incredibly proud to have led this important campaign for our community,” said Wendy. “Southlake has a special place in our hearts, having cared for our twin girls in the NICU over 20 years ago when they needed it most. However, we know that more advanced equipment has become available since then. When we think of our children potentially having kids in the future, it is impossible not to be affected by the idea that without the community’s support, they might rely on the same equipment that their parents used.”
“Families in our community should have access to the very best, so to be able to give back, honouring that advanced and compassionate care we received means the world. We’re so grateful to all the donors who stepped up to lend their support,” said Chris. Chris, Wendy, and their family are long-time supporters of Southlake.
In addition to the Neals, Southlake extends its gratitude to the van Schaik family and Honda Canada Foundation for their generous philanthropic support of this important campaign.
Homeward Campaign fundraising has enabled Southlake’s Maternal Child Program to replace integral equipment and technology in the Birthing Unit and the NICU. As a Level 2C NICU with ability to care for infants born as early as 30 weeks, equipment for these areas is highly specialized and purpose-built for Southlake’s tiniest patients.
Since the inception of the campaign, generous donors have enabled Southlake to purchase new infant warmers that use radiant heating to keep babies warm, state-of-the-art incubator care stations that provide continuous warmth to newborns while promoting the growth and stability of babies, and NICU care stations designed to address premature babies’ changing and complex care demands. In addition, the hospital has replaced fetal monitors that watch mom and baby’s vitals during the birthing process, has expanded the hospital’s obstetric ultrasound capacity, and will soon leverage centralized monitoring in the Birthing Unit so that clinical staff can view all patient vitals.
“Having access to this level of advanced equipment is truly a game changer for our hospital,” said Puneet Sandhu, Director of Surgical, Maternal Child and Pediatric Programs. “This equipment empowers us to respond swiftly and efficiently to critical situations, ensuring newborns receive the care they need during those vital first moments of life. These critical upgrades give our talented clinical team the ability to handle emergencies with even more confidence, as they provide increased precision and continuous monitoring of the little ones in our care. We’re so grateful to our community for supporting these important improvements, and are thrilled to bring this level of care to new moms, dads, and their babies who depend us.”
On average, 2,600 babies are born at the hospital each year – translating to approximately five babies entering the world at Southlake per day. Approximately twenty per cent of those babies require advanced levels of care in the NICU.
New equipment and advanced technology upgrades are not funded by the government. The generous support of community donors, like those who donated to the Homeward Campaign, enable the hospital to purchase equipment that will continue to support leading edge care for patients at Southlake.
“Supporting new parents and their newborns on their journey Homeward from Southlake is such an important and pivotal moment of care. Thanks to the generous support of our incredible donor community, with this new investment in advanced equipment, we are able to do that more efficiently and comprehensively than ever before,” said Jennifer Ritter, President and CEO of Southlake Foundation. “I want to extend our sincerest thanks to Chris and Wendy Neal for their leadership of this campaign. Their passion inspired incredible support. I’m constantly in awe of how our community steps up for our hospital, and having surpassed our campaign goal is another example of that commitment. We are so deeply grateful to every donor who made this success possible.”
