Local charity funds medical equipment for Michigan's Children's Hospital

Written by: Julie Kotsis

February 26, 2016

A state-of-the-art defibrillator and monitoring unit that was gifted to Michigan’s Children’s Hospital is saving young local lives in Windsor and Essex County.

The Children’s Hospital of Michigan PANDA One, a pediatric-and neonatal-dedicated ambulance, is now outfitted with the $35,000 US medical device thanks to the fundraising efforts of two charitable organizations — Drive Fore a Cure and In Honour of the Ones We Love.

The PANDA One provides intensive care transport and highly specialized care for critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients in Michigan, nearby states and at hospitals in Windsor and Leamington who need immediate surgical or advanced medical care in Michigan. The new defibrillator can re-start a child’s heart and monitor other vital signs.

“We’re not just helping Windsor, we’re not just helping Leamington, we’re helping everyone with this machine,” said Anita Imperioli, founder of In Honour of the Ones We Love, an organization supporting cancer patients. “It’s helping all our children.”

Imperioli said the charities partnered up to purchase the unit with funds raised through their annual cross-border golf tournaments.

“We decided to work with Children’s Hospital (because) … we do have children here in our community who use the PANDA truck on a daily basis,” Imperioli said. “We thought it was very crucial … since they pick up our children here … when time is of the essence and they can’t get to London.”

When necessary, critically ill children and infants are taken to Michigan for emergency medical care or surgery, rather than heading to specialized hospitals in London or Toronto.

Courtesy of: The Windsor Star