Kawartha Lakes resident Tim Shauf, who is president and CEO of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group and sits on the board of directors of the Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) Foundation, was in a foundation board meeting when his daughter Jocelyn called to tell him that she was cancer-free.
About two years ago, Tim and his wife Sheila received the news that Jocelyn had a rare form of leukemia. Her care began at RMH in Lindsay and involved teams of experts from multiple facilities. Over a year of intensive treatment, her family experienced the impact of Jocelyn’s timely access to clinical information and bedside equipment.
As a result, Tim and Sheila are sharing their experience and their gratitude by telling their story through the RMH Foundation’s “Hopeful Moments” holiday appeal letter for its capital fundraising campaign for the Lindsay hospital.
“The Shaufs’ story is one that still gives us goosebumps,” Kim Coulter, RMH Foundation communications specialist, told kawarthaNOW. “Tim has been involved with the foundation board for many years and is currently our campaign chair. He really is part of our foundation family, and we just couldn’t be happier that his daughter is in good health.”
Coulter said the annual holiday appeal is trickier this year, due to donor letters not landing in people’s mailboxes as a result of the current Canada Post strike. She’s hoping to raise the profile of the campaign and highlight the importance of donations.
“We want people to know that when they contribute to the Ross, their donations impact patients’ care throughout the hospital,” she said. “Each time they see an IV pump, or hear that someone they know had an MRI, we hope they feel good about the fact that they helped make it possible.”
Since government funding doesn’t cover the cost of a hospital’s medical equipment and technology, “donors make it happen with every gift,” Coulter added.
Through the “Hopeful Moments” holiday appeal, the foundation is hoping to raise money for the highest priority investments at RMH.
These include the expansion of the emergency department and the creation of a mental health emergency services unit, the future expansion and modernization of the intensive care unit, the new MRI and CT scanner, bedside equipment including the new fleet of IV pumps, and the clinical information system that connects patients’ digital health information records to medical technology and bedside tools, so every test and treatment is noted in real time and available to the entire care team.
Through their involvement in the foundation’s holiday appeal, the Shaufs say they hope to give more patients the best chance for a positive outcome like their daughter experienced.
“The care that she experienced in the midst of waiting for a life-changing diagnosis was second to none,” Tim wrote in the letter.
“It was a challenging time of ups and downs. We all have vivid moments that float to the surface. For Sheila, it was a volunteer offering to bring her a ginger ale as she struggled to process more bad news. Jocelyn remembers hearing her children play nearby as she sat with her husband, Kurt. Believing she was dying, she asked him, ‘what do we do?'”
“We learned that it takes an army of people to deal with some health situations. Our entire family has a new respect for the nurses who are there for their patients, day and night. We also have an enormous appreciation for the technology that’s used to support patients’ care. In particular, we learned to count on the information that was shared into Jocelyn’s electronic medical record that she had direct access to through an app on her phone.”
Tim said the family knows that not everyone is as lucky as Jocelyn who, along with Sheila, opened the quilt shop Quiltiful in Bobcaygeon earlier this year.
“We’ve been blessed. That’s why my family is supporting Ross Memorial’s highest priority needs, too. Sheila and I grew up in families that supported our neighbours and communities during times of need, and we’re grateful to be in a position to help today.”
“This is about raising funds to pay for the medical technology and equipment that the doctors, nurses, lab techs, and pharmacists need to diagnose and treat patients like Jocelyn. Right here, where we live.”
For more information about RMH Foundation’s Hopeful Moments campaign and to make a donation, visit foundation.rmh.org.
