When a skiing accident landed Art Church in the Collingwood G&M Hospital Emergency Department, he was glad that he could be referred to Orthopaedic Services where expert surgeon, Dr. Henry Koo took over his care. To show his appreciation to Dr. Koo and the entire surgical team, Art decided to make an extraordinary gift of $1 million to the program. “I will be forever grateful to Dr Henry Koo and his team for their skill and my ultimate recovery,” says Art Church, “I have been very lucky in life and I am more than pleased to repay some of that to support our hospital to allow them to continue to improve and serve our community.”
The $1 million commitment from Art Church & Family allowed the Surgical Team to go beyond what had been budgeted for capital equipment purchases in 2022. Not only does the Orthopaedic Program benefit from this gift, but other surgical specialties, as well as the Anaesthesia Program. Most exciting will be the installation of state-of-the-art Indigo-Clean lighting to safely kill bacteria during surgical procedures in all three operating rooms – the first of its kind in Ontario. John Widdis, CGMH’s Manager of Plant Operations & Maintenance presented this leading-edge technology to the Foundation as a way to help CGMH maintain patient and frontline worker safety as they deliver urgent, high‑quality care.
“Being a smaller hospital means we have the ability to be nimble in our decision-making and also innovative in our solutions for better patient care. However, as an overburdened hospital, we have limited resources and a lot of constraints, so it is imperative to be both efficient and resourceful when coming up with proactive solutions that will keep our patients safe. The Foundation understands that and is always willing to explore new ways to keep our community healthy.”
John Widdis, Manager of Plant Operations & Maintenance for CGMH
Indigo-Clean, a continuous disinfection technology, is patented and proven to kill harmful viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza-A, and bacteria linked to healthcare associated infections. Indigo-Clean technology emits narrow spectrum light that kills viruses and bacteria while providing ambient illumination for the space. Unlike UV light, Indigo-Clean technology uses safe, visible light to automatically and continuously kill harmful viruses and bacteria in the air, and on surfaces. Research shows that manual cleaning and disinfection of operating rooms isn’t sufficient and can actually pose risk of infection to patients post surgery. Indigo lighting, used in conjunction with manual cleaning, has been shown through clinical research to help reduce infections, leading to better health outcomes for patients while creating no additional safety hazard in the room. It also operates automatically using sensors to reduce operational costs and ensure that the disinfection is properly applied for maximum benefit.
We are so grateful to Art for showing his appreciation with such a generous gift and look forward to keeping you updated on its continued impact. If you received exceptional care at the Collingwood G&M Hospital and want to say thanks, consider making a donation as a gift of gratitude. Your gift, no matter big or small, will be a meaningful testament to the person you choose to honour; ensuring more people have the opportunity to experience similar, extraordinary care.
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