Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Bob Vrooman gave the Painchaud Family a tough act to follow at the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital Foundation Gala, held last Thursday at the Westdale Complex.
Before the acrobatic, musical family took the stage, Vrooman, the LACGH Foundation chair, announced three exciting projects either already on the go or just on the horizon at the hospital.
Tops among those announcements was an update on LACGH’s push to get its own CT scan machine.
“We just received a letter from the Ministry of Health stating that we have ministry support to proceed up to Stage 4.1, working drawings and specifications from our CT renovation project,” said Vrooman. “This is the final step before we go to Stage 5, which is implementation. This is a good sign that progress is being made.”
Vrooman also touted two new programs unique to the Southeast Local Integrated Health Network that will be housed in Napanee.
“Lennox and Addington County General Hospital is the first in the region to launch the Breathe program,” explained Vrooman. “The service assists patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD, to safely and effectively transition from an inpatient stage to the home.”
Breathe was launched late last year.
The second program will specialize in the treatment of bladder ailments for both men and women.
“The regional bladder centre is the only service of its kind in Southeastern Ontario,” said Vrooman. “The program, which will launch later this month, is supported by the department of urology and urogynecology as well as nursing and physiotherapy. LACGH is pleased to offer this unique service, which will consist of a diagnosis and customary treatment that will directly improve quality of life for many patients suffering from bladder conditions.”
Using just a saw and a fiddle bow, Patrice Painchaud serenades Dr. Annette Polanski, director of radiology at LACGH. He was able to play a flawless rendition of ‘Over the Rainbow.’ Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
As impressive as the updates were, they weren’t the only source of applause from the audience that night. The night’s entertainment, the Painchaud Family, once again delivered a highly entertaining program. They mixed expert fiddle, banjo, bass, keyboard and drum playing with feats of balance, hand-eye coordination, dancing and a few tricks along the way. This marked the second time the family had headlined the gala, having done so four years ago at the hospital’s premier gala.
Support for the gala was overwhelming, as tickets for the event sold out in November just a few days after they were announced. Money raised from the event will go towards the purchase of the CT scan machine.