The Donor Difference ‘The pandemic’s third wave brought significant pressures to hospitals across Ontario. ICUs filled up. Families could not visit loved ones. Volunteers were asked to stay home. Many surgeries were cancelled or postponed so that staff and resources could be redeployed to focus on the surge of COVID-19 patients. ‘The journey has been exceptionally grueling for our patients, their families and our entire healthcare team. “It’s been along haul,” says Cindy McDonell, Senior Vice-President, Clinical Operations, who acknowledges just how hard staff have worked, “They are there every day doing their best to look after patients through this pandemic, and they've done a phenomenal job” Today, as COVID numbers come down, the pressures are slowly easing. Georgetown What's Happening at Georgetown Hospital Foundation Living. Giving. Caring. Hospital is loosening visitor restrictions, enabling the face-to-face contact that is so important to patient care. We're also cautiously ramping up surgeries, starting with day procedures. The pandemic isn’t over yet, but we couldn't have gotten this far without the support of our community. Your donations help us to fund the equipment we need to continue providing exemplary care, like our new echocardiogram. This specialized ultrasound machine can diagnose a variety of heart conditions — including heart damage caused by COVID-19. This new equipment will also allow some cancer patients to get tests done locally. Meanwhile, your personal support — from emails asking how the staff were doing, to signs around the hospital and Woz ‘2z Ain ‘Aepsuny | SiH YONEH - dl UL | SL the community, to handwritten cards — boosted our morale. >) THANK YOU | FOR YOUR SUPPORT Nurse at Georgetown Hospital. “It has really reinforced how much a part of our team our donors are;’ says Cindy. “We know they’re there for us, and we're very grateful for it” eordyouy