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24 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 16, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OTMH Classic will breathe new life into ICU By HOWARD MOZEL OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF While this Sunday's Father's Day edition of the 2006 OTMH Classic Run/Walk promises to be a whole lot of fun, participants will be raising money for a cause that can easily be described as deadly serious: buying essential new equipment for OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Specifically, the Classic will be raising money for two ventilators, each costing $60,000, which are used when patients are unable to breathe on their own. In fact, the ICU ensures that the most critically ill residents of the community who require immediate attention have access to the life-saving, state-of-the-art equipment they desperately need. Trouble is, says ICU Program Manager Nancy Merrill, the area's population Kevin Hill / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER STRAWBERRIES ANYONE?: Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital ICU nurses, Amanda Parsons, Mary-Ann Willett, Shirley Garvey, Chris Ditta, Emily Evershed, Nancy Merrill, ICU Program Manager, Aleta Mayer, Special Events Coordinator and OTMH Classic Chair, Frank Lochan, with bowls of strawberries and whipped cream ­ part of the the Father's Day Breakfast menu. growth has seen a subsequent infections plus overdoses and 20 per cent of ICU cases are increase in the volume and aortic aneurysms ­ in short, surgical cases requiring speacuity of ICU patients, mean- patients who are unable to cialized care, such as head and neck surgery. ing there is more of them and regulate their vital organs. Most patients in the ICU To help cope with this situthey're sicker. They include, but aren't limited to, the thou- require complex specialized ation, Merrill continued, sand-plus people a year who medical care such as cardiolo- OTMH had to open a four-bed have had a heart attack, major gy, respiratory and nephrology satellite ICU on the 4th Floor, surgery and overwhelming (kidney care). This also means one with limitations like no that patients require a longer ventilators. Merrill said this stay in the ICU and within poses problems when patients OTMH to ensure their health- are in need of equipment the care needs are met. Fifteen to satellite can't provide. Impr ove your Quality of Life with Better Hearing CALL US TODAY! 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As a result, the current 12bed ICU is on the verge of an expansion, but this, like the satellite operation, is only a stop-gap measure until the new hospital is built, said Merrill. (When the new site becomes reality, she said, its ICU can be designed from the ground floor and the technological patchwork of the current unit will be a memory.) In the meantime, the former Administration offices have been vacated so that the ICU can grow by half as much as its current size to 18 beds. The new ICU will offer the opportunity to designate beds and create a distinct area for cardiac care patients. It will also incorporate a pair of isolation rooms and a second nursing station. "We are quite anxious to get it going, so we can close the satellite and have the ICU all in one area," said Merrill, who added that the tendering process for construction is now underway. "We're excited to bring everything together and we're excited about the new hospital too." The project is expected to begin in early fall and take about nine months to complete. According to OTMH Classic Chair Frank Lochan, government funding only goes so far so OTMH needs community support to raise a "significant portion" of the balance in order to purchase the necessary medical equipment for the expansion, pegged at more than $480,000. "The ICU is a most deserving area for the funds to go to," said Lochan, adding that this year's Classic goal is $100,000. "There is a long list of equipment." The OTMH Classic has raised over $1 million since its inception in 1996. The event offers participants a choice of a 5km Run, a 5km Power Walk and a 3km Family Walk. New this year, a 1km Fun Run will allow children under 10 to toddle or run their way to the finish line. More than 900 participants are expected to take part. The course for the OTMH Classic weaves its way through Old Oakville. Runners and walkers are invited to bring their families since the day's activities include bouncy tents, face painting, clowns, massages and much more. After the race is the Father's Day Breakfast, sponsored by Oakville's Jennifer's Kitchen and Longo's where, for $5 each, participants and their families can enjoy breakfast that includes strawberries and whipped cream. The OTMH Classic will be held at Wallace Park between Reynolds and Allan Street, just south of the hospital. The Fun Run starts at 8:45 a.m., the Run starts at 9 a.m., the Power Walk starts at 9:10 a.m. and the Walk starts at 9:15 a.m. Free parking is available both on site and in the staff parking lot at OTMH off Reynolds Street. Medals and prizes will be awarded for runners in Open, Masters and age categories from 10 to 70-plus. To volunteer or for more information, contact Aleta Mayer 905-845-2571, ext. 4351 or e-mail amayer@haltonhealthcare.on.ca. Pick up a registration form at OTMH, 327 Reynolds St., Oak-Land Ford Lincoln, 570 Trafalgar Rd., and Running Room, 156 Lakeshore Rd. E., or register at www.otmhclassic.com or www.events.runningroom.com. ­Howard Mozel can be reached at hmozel@haltonsearch.com. HAVE ARRIVED! Enjoy the outdoors relaxing under a Sunguard awning manufactured with your choice of fade proof Sunbrella fabric, and powered by a reliable Somfy remote controlled motor. European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship * on select Vermont Castings products Call or visit our showroom at: 4090 Ridgeway Dr. #10, Mississauga Visit us today! 406 Speers Rd., Oakville (across from Rona Lansing) 905-569-8566 www.sunguardawnings.com Mon.-Fri. 9:30am to 5pm, Sat 9:30am to 3pm "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905-337-2066 905.849.0266