Keeping Patients and Families Connected Through Virtual Visits  

For many St. Joe’s patients and their families, one of the most difficult things about COVID-19 is not being able to see and spend time with one another. Our Hospital’s current no-visitor policy is essential to keeping everyone safe, but for those who are ill and for those who love them, this physical separation is very difficult.

Two generous donors are committed to helping solve this challenge, and have made it possible to have virtual visits at St. Joe’s! With more than $85,000 contributed by the Ever Hopeful Fund and St. Elizabeth Home Society, our Foundation was able to grant funds for the Hospital to purchase dedicated iPads. Read more about this generous gift, and the beautiful story of Ana and her father, Peter.

Our Hospital's Needs During COVID-19

iPads for virtual visits were just one of our Hospital’s emerging needs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.  From funds to help purchase new equipment to securing more personal protective apparel and supplies and supporting innovative COVID-19 research, our Hospital needs your support more than ever. To make a donation to our COVID-19 emergency response fund, please click here.

St. Elizabeth Home Society Makes $150,000 Donation to Help St. Joseph's Address its COVID-19 Pandemic Needs

A new portable x-ray machine is on its way to St. Joe’s thanks to a new $150,000 donation from St. Elizabeth Home Society. The portable x-ray can provide digital images of a patient’s lungs, chest and more—right at their bedside.

This is important during COVID-19 as patients no longer need to be transported from their patient care room to the diagnostic imaging department and back again—thereby reducing the chance that COVID-positive patients could transmit the virus to others within the Hospital. 

A Dinner to Raise Funds for a New Surgical Robot

Dr. Bobby Shayegan (left) helps to instruct a colleague using the da Vinci Si.

On March 10, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic escalated and non-essential closures took effect, three dedicated St. Joe’s supporters - Peter Cicchi, Aldo DeSantis and Dave Lumsden invited some of their closest friends and colleagues to enjoy a dinner at DiMario’s Trattoria, a small Italian eatery on Burlington’s Lakeshore. Guests were treated to a gourmet menu, complete with wine pairings and awed by a presentation from Dr. Anthony Adili, Chief of Surgery at St. Joe’s and the first surgeon in Canada to perform a robotic-assisted partial knee replacement.

Dr. Adili shared how St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton has quickly emerged as a leader in robotic surgery locally, nationally and globally. But to grow that leadership, he explained that our Hospital needs to acquire the next generation surgical robot, the da Vinci XI. With a greater range of motion and new HD monitors, the new robot will enable our surgeons to perform complex surgeries for cancers of the lung, prostate, bladder, kidneys, head and neck—giving patients better outcomes, a speedier recovery and new hope.

Dinner guests made donations to St. Joe’s that were matched, dollar for dollar, by the Marta & Owen Boris Foundation and altogether more than $420,000 was raised. These funds will help St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation close in on our $6 million fundraising goal for this priority project. To learn more about our fundraising to bring the new robot to St. Joe’s, please visit stjoesfoundation.ca/robotics.

St. Joe's Cares: Mental Health Tips During COVID-19

Mental health care has never been more important as we all continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together. Interruptions to our daily routine, separation from our loved ones and having our livelihood impacted has added significant strain to the mental well-being of many Canadians.

With the help of St. Joe's Anxiety Research and Treatment Clinic, we have put together a quick video with some tips to manage your stress and anxiety during COVID-19. Please click the image above, or see this link to view.

Paris to Ancaster Community Gives Back!

With the 2020 Paris to Ancaster (P2A) race being cancelled this year due to COVID-19, participants were given the option to defer their registration fee to P2A 2021; obtain a refund; or donate their registration fees to St. Joe's. So far over 200 people have chosen to donate to St. Joe's, raising more than $16,000 (and climbing) to support research at St. Joe's. Our thanks goes out to the entire P2A community as well as race organizers John Thorpe and Tim Farrar.

Masks & Meals with Love from LiUNA

From raising funds through the Bay Race, to sponsoring our Gala and supporting Seniors’ Mental Health, LiUNA is a longstanding supporter of our Hospital. So, it was no surprise when they recently delivered 5,000 surgical masks to help keep our patients and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and enough pizza to feed 100 of our hardworking frontline healthcare workers. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to our friends at LiUNA for always lending a hand to St. Joe’s.

Chalk it Up for St. Joe's!

Looking for a way to support our healthcare heroes? #ChalkItUp for Hamilton Hospitals! The Hamilton community has been showing their love for our healthcare heroes the last 3 weeks by sending messages of hope, support and love via beautiful chalk drawings! Check out this album of images we've collected so far from the community!

Ready to #ChalkItUp?

Grab your sidewalk chalk and follow these three easy steps to show your support for our #HamOnt healthcare workers who are so bravely battling COVID-19 while caring for our community.

Facebook:

• @StJosephsHealthcareFoundation
• @HamHealthSci

Twitter:

• @STJOESHAMILTON
• @HamHealthSci
• @CityofHamilton

Instagram

• @STJOESHAMILTON
• @hamiltonhealthsciences
• @CityofHamilton

May is Leave a Legacy Month

A well-planned gift can touch the lives of patients at St. Joe's now and forever. Learn more here.