March 24, 2010
Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation > News & Events > Media Room > March 24, 2010

Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation finds pediatric equipment for Haiti
12 incubators and five fetal monitors being sent to Haitian orphanage

Surrey, British Columbia Canada - It is an example of one charity helping another, and the result is more aid heading to a country that is recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year.

When the magnitude 7.0 quake struck Haiti on January 12, Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation Executive Assistant Lynn Strain wondered how she could help. For several years, she had donated to God’s Littlest Angels, a Haitian orphanage whose volunteers include family friends. Strain wanted to do something once again, especially in this time of desperate need.

She soon realized her workplace could provide a unique opportunity. For the last several months, Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation has been purchasing pediatric equipment for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. The department is undergoing an expansion, and the Foundation’s donors have been generously supporting it.

This encouraged Strain to ask whether the hospital had any pediatric equipment being retired to make room for the new purchases. The answer was yes; the hospital had three available incubators and Fraser Health could provide another five fetal monitors.

During those discussions, Fraser Health officials suggested the name of another potential donor. Stewart Medical Ltd., an Abbotsford-based medical surplus dealer, soon agreed to contribute a further nine incubators to the cause.

Wendy Kittlitz, an orphanage volunteer/adoptive parent in the Lower Mainland, helped arrange shipment of the 12 incubators and five fetal monitors to Haiti. The package is more than Strain had imagined when she started making inquiries. The donation, however, doesn’t come as a surprise to her, since Strain works in an environment where generosity is a daily occurrence.

Established in 1992, Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation has raised more than $50 million to purchase medical equipment, fund innovative programs, and support training and research. www.smhfoundation.com

-30-

Jason Howe
Public Affairs Director
Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation
604-585-5666 ext 8284
cell: 604-613-6873
jason.howe{at}fraserhealth.ca
Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation. Making life better.