A charity golf tournament is looking to breathe new life into equipment at the Timmins and District Hospital.
The John P. Larche Retro Gold Charity Golf Tournament is Saturday, Aug. 11 at Spruce Needles Golf Club.
Proceeds of this year’s event will help replace the ventilators for the John P. Larche Medical Imaging and Cardiopulmonary Department.
Right now there are five adult ventilators at the facility, with the price tag for a new one being about $45,000.
“We’re hoping that this event can raise at least enough money to buy at least two or three,” said Patricia Gaudreau, Timmins and District Hospital Foundation acting executive director.
Respiratory therapist Susan Boisvert explained the machines are used for people who are critically ill, have been injured or have an acute illness impacting their ability to breath.
“Last year we would have used it for 85 different patients and added up to over 700 days of ventilation. So that kind of averages out to two patients a day that would be on,” she said.
The current ventilators at the hospital are coming to the end of their life, ranging in age from seven to 21 years.
“We need to replace them so we have the current and that will actually give us more options of the technology, things have advanced a lot since these were around so this will move us ahead technology-wise as well and hopefully provide better care for our patients,” Boisvert said.
Both the tournament and department the equipment is earmarked for is named in Larche’s memory.
The well-known prospector helped discover the Hemlo deposit in the 1980s and was a major benefactor at the Timmins hospital.
Dolores Larche said if her husband was alive, he’d talk about how it’s important to have these fundraisers.
“As you can see this is a life-saving device as well and many people have come through these doors and I know I have had much experience with family being in here… and certainly made use of this equipment. All I can say is I think it will be an ongoing thing because the hospital is in so much need of this equipment, and as you know as the future goes on so does equipment change over the years,” she said. “Like anything else, it’s like a car, it has to be looked after.”
There is still room for teams of four to register for the tournament.
The fun tournament has an ‘80s theme this year and is open to all levels of golfers.
It is $500 per team, which includes golf, dinner, and takeaways. There will also be a silent auction and hole contests.
To register a team, visit tadhfoundation.com, call 705-360-6039 or email [email protected].
