Elusive ace finally caught in RVH Foundation Catch the Ace lottery
January 06, 2022
Gertrude Morrow, centre, was awarded her cheque from the RVH Foundation's Catch the Ace Lottery.
On December 16, Gertrude Morrow from Richmond, found the Ace of Spades in the Renfrew Victoria Hospital Foundation’s second edition of the Catch the Ace Lottery.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Neat Café in Burnstown by her sister, who also picked the number for her. “It was fate,” said Morrow, who has no plans for her windfall just yet, but will take some time to “let it sink in and digest it. It was a pretty nice call to get.”
The lottery raised over $1.3 million which will help to fund a large renovation project to update the RVH Emergency Department (ED).
“We received approval from our Board of Directors some time ago to move ahead with a facelift for the ED and the first phase has begun,” noted Julia Boudreau, RVH President and CEO.
The overall footprint of the ED will not be impacted, however “this renovation will include significant improvements for safety and delivery of care,” stated Boudreau.
Staff and physicians, including Dr. Kristian Davis, Medical Director of ED, and Kim Dick, Nurse Manager of the ED, have had input into the changes that will be made, which include negative airflow rooms in both trauma bays with attached anterooms, additional hand washing sinks, and a refresh of the workstation and triage areas, as well as all other rooms in the department.
“The updates will not only bring our ED up to current standards, it will also improve the safety and care of our patients and improve flow and efficiency for our staff working in one of the busiest departments in the hospital,” says Dr. Davis.
The RVH Emergency Department averages approximately 30,000 patient visits per year.
“This is another significant investment in our hospital infrastructure. I would like to thank our Board for its support and share our deep gratitude with the RVH Foundation for directing the Catch the Ace funds to this project,” said Boudreau.
Gertrude Morrow also expressed gratitude to the Foundation, “Thank you so much, I’m pretty much set!”
“We’re so pleased once again with the community support for our lottery, the foundation and our hospital, including those who purchased tickets, the wonderful retailers who sold tickets at their businesses and the amazing volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes every week during the search for the ace. Thank you all,” said Patti Dillabough, RVH Foundation Executive Director.
The next RVH Foundation Catch the Ace Lottery is planned to launch in April 2022 in conjunction with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil Month in support of those affected by cancer. Proceeds will be directed towards new mammography equipment as the current machine is 10 years old.