From now until October 7th, you can make a donation at any one of Peterborough’s five local Shoppers Drug Mart locations to help Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) purchase a new electronic fetal monitor.
A group of new moms — all of whom had their babies at PRHC in the last 12 months — visited Shoppers Drug Mart at Lansdowne and High Street with their babies this afternoon to thank the local stores for choosing to help safeguard expectant mothers and their babies. Representatives from the PRHC Foundation, which raises funds on behalf of the hospital, were also there.
As part of Shoppers Drug Mart’s annual Growing Women’s Health campaign, customers and employees will have the opportunity to purchase a $1 leaf, $5 butterfly, $10 apple, or a $50 bird, which will be displayed in the store’s front window for the duration of the campaign. For every dollar donated, customers also receive 10 Shoppers Optimum Points.
Pharmacist owner Zebrina Kassam thanked the moms for coming and explained the Shoppers Drug Mart annual campaign is even more focused on supporting women’s health initiatives, through a new program called Love. You. Putting Women’s Health First.
“We believe you’re at your best when YOU love YOU,” Kassam told the group. “Sharing that love means a healthier community for us all. We hope that, together with the employees of Shoppers Drug Mart, our customers will join us in supporting this vital tool that will help PRHC’s doctors and nurses keep mothers and their babies safe, and help ensure a positive birthing experience.”
All donations made at local Shoppers Drug Mart locations will support the purchase of a new state-of-the-art electronic fetal monitor, one of 14 currently being fundraised for by PHRC Foundation on behalf of the Women & Children’s Program at the hospital.
“We’re so honoured to have been chosen as the beneficiary of the 2016 Growing Women’s Health campaign,” said Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation President & CEO.
Heighway explained that 1,600 babies from across the region are born at PRHC every year. She said the hospital’s existing electronic fetal monitors, which are used every day on every patient in the Labour & Delivery Unit, are reaching the the end of their lifespan and must be replaced.
“This equipment provides instant, detailed vital signs information for both mother and baby, right at the bedside,” she said. “The monitors not only track the mother’s condition, they let our doctors and nurses know how the fetus is reacting to the process of labour.”
Until October 7th, you can make donations by visiting any one of the following Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Peterborough: 1875 Lansdowne St. W., 741 Lansdowne St. W., 971 Chemong Rd., 225 Charlotte St., and 361 George St.
The Shoppers Drug Mart annual Growing Women’s Health campaign (formerly Tree of Life) is focused on supporting organizations that make a difference to women’s health in each store’s own community. The campaign has raised over $29 million since 2002, with 100% of all proceeds benefiting local women’s health initiatives, ranging from improving services at local hospitals to supporting mental health programs.
Locally, past campaigns under the Tree of Life banner have seen a total of $24,636 in combined local and Shoppers Drug Mart corporate donations go towards cervical cancer prevention, and labour and delivery equipment.
For more information on Shoppers Drug Mart’s Love. You. initiative, visit www.shoppersloveyou.ca.
For more information on PRHC Foundation, or to find out how you can help make great care possible at your hospital, call 705-876-5000 or visit www.prhcfoundation.ca.
