A local charity has donated the proceeds from the sale of their building to the North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation.
An echo ultrasound machine and two infusion pumps are being purchased with the $220,000 donation from The Worldwide Wellness and Pain Control Organization (WWPCO).
After 24 years, the local charity is winding down operations.
Margaret Lafontaine, Founder and President, started the organization in 1997 and was ignited when her husband passed away in 1988 from bone cancer.
“He was in so much pain and in those days pain control was not as advanced as it is today,” she says. “I wanted to do what I could to ensure patients had access to pain pumps. We fundraised to purchase, maintain and train nurses on how to use them.”
“Similar to traditional ultrasound machines, (the echo ultrasound) differs in that they are customized to solely look at the heart, whereas other ultrasound machines look at every other part of the body. Echo ultrasound performs an echocardiogram to diagnose heart problems,” says Steve Touliopoulos, Manager of Diagnostic Imaging. “The current machine was purchased prior to 2011 and is in need of replacement. We are also considering the purchase of a second machine to help address wait times in our community.”
The decision to wind down the charity was made in September.
