James and Jessie Fedorak appreciate the care offered at RIH to the people of Kamloops and the surrounding region. That’s why it was difficult to pick just one piece of equipment to purchase when they asked to see a list of priority equipment two years ago. Instead, the Fedoraks decided to make a multi-year pledge that would fund a variety of pieces of equipment needed throughout the hospital. Four new cystoscopes were purchased for the Urology Department at RIH which are used to examine the inside of patients’ bladders, urethra and prostate.

The new scopes have a much brighter and clearer image which enhances the visualization of vessels and other tissues. The HD scopes also allow the patients, nurses and medical students to view the procedure on a screen which provides a new learning opportunity for staff, students and medical residents training at RIH. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) also benefitted from the Fedoraks’ generosity with the addition of a new defibrillator and fluid management system (Belmont Rapid Infuser).

Trauma patients greatly benefit from the Belmont system as it allows medical staff to quickly replace blood loss and also helps raise the internal body temperature of these patients who often arrive cold. It is also critical to warm trauma patients before they enter surgery as complications such as coagulation can result when operating on a patient with a low internal temperature. Lastly, the Fedoraks enabled the introduction of new technology at our hospital with the purchase of a Fibroscan machine which provides doctors with a non-invasive and painless technique for monitoring the condition of a patient’s liver. It is a simple alternative to liver biopsy which can have serious risk associated with it. Fibroscan exam results can help to anticipate various complications, as well as to monitor and assess damage caused by conditions such as cirrhosis. The examination is quick, easy and can be safely repeated as needed for each patient.