Hear! Hear! VGH Thrift Store funds important audiology equipment
Li Qi, Audiologist (right), shows Ben Fischer, Patient Services Manager (left) one of the Neuro-Otology Clinic’s new audiometers funded by the VGH Thrift Store
JIMMI TERRY
Posted May 10, 2021
Since opening in 2003, the VGH Thrift Store has supported Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) programs, from the Emergency Department to neurosciences, helping them purchase much-needed equipment for patient care.
This year, the VGH Neuro-Otology Clinic, also known as the Complex Hearing and Balance Services Program, has received donated funds from the thrift store to purchase two audiometers, which will enable patients to gain quicker access to diagnostic services. The audiometers are valued at over $16,000 each and the clinic has been waiting for over two years to purchase them.
Audiometers test hearing acuity and can evaluate the degree of hearing loss an individual may be experiencing. Audiometry is performed via different methods, one of which is the pure-tone test. This test measures the quietest sound an individual can hear at different pitches, and is most precise when performed with an audiometer.
The clinic’s former audiometers, purchased in 2005, enabled staff to successfully evaluate hearing acuity in those suffering from, or facing, hearing loss for many years. However, the equipment is now at the end of its usable life and is no longer repairable by VCH’s Biomedical Engineering Department. The new audiometers will enable the program’s audiologists to perform the tests more efficiently and will reduce downtimes – which is good news for patients.
“This will have an immediate impact on the quality of care we are able to provide, and allow us to significantly reducing diagnostic wait-times,” says Ben Fischer, Patient Services Manager. “And we are deeply grateful for the support of the VGH Thrift Store.”
In addition to supporting the Neuro-Otology Clinic in the past year, the VGH Thrift Store has funded the purchase of rolling tables for the Cath Lab; a blanket warming cabinet for the ICU; cufflators for Respiratory Therapy; and an Urostym System for the Bladder Care Centre – all items that have improved patient care.
VGH Thrift Store appreciates your support
Store donations benefitting VCH-Vancouver patients, clients and residents wouldn’t be possible without your support. The VGH Thrift Store welcomes your clothing, books and other household items for resale. Please drop off donations during store hours only.
Store hours: Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Address: 2535 E. Hastings Street
Phone: 604.876.3731
Website: vghthriftstore.org
Did you know that May is Speech and Hearing Month in Canada? Learn more here: speechandhearing.ca
