RVH's Keep Life Wild Radiothon seeks $125K boost for critical care expansion
The two-day Keep Life Wild Radiothon kicked off Thursday morning to support health care close to home.
Officials with Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie said funds raised will go a long way at the hospital.
"We need to expand critical care. We have a wonderful ICU, but it is very old, and it is small. As we speak right now, it is completely full, and we are actually spread into other units to accommodate the critically ill patients so there is a definite need for a bigger modernized ICU," said Dr. Chris Martin, chief and medical director of critical care at RVH.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
Martin said RVH is hoping to expand not only in size but also in scope by bringing additional programs to the region.
"Expanding our oncology program more, we would like to look at thoracics and other programs as well and in the potentially expanding trauma down the road. All of these programs will require a critical care backup as well as just our growing population," said Martin.
Brad Ross is a cardiac patient at RVH and said the centre saved his life after he suffered a heart attack.
"I was having what's called a widowmaker heart attack. When you're having one of those heart attacks, they say time is muscle, and the longer you wait, the greater the risk of you not surviving. Until just a couple of years ago, patients like me would have been transported to Southlake in Newmarket, and it was thanks to donors and people in the community raising money, fundraising and making donations to RVH," said Ross.
Pure Country 106 and Bounce 104.1 broadcast live at RVH throughout the day and shared with CTV News this year's Radiothon goal to raise $125,000.
"We've been receiving a lot of calls, a lot of donations, challenges as well going out to firefighters in Simcoe Muskoka, a lot of challenges. It's really heartening to know that people are willing to open up their wallets and their hearts, especially at this time of the year," said Carey Moran, Pure Country 106 morning show host.
Radio hosts from Pure Country and Bounce will be back broadcasting live Friday, from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The overall campaign goal is to hit $100 million, and since that launch last fall, $30 million has already been raised.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.