We regularly feature wonderful stories of fundraising for the hospital. Here we feature more examples of the many projects that have been made possible by this fundraising and by donations of all kinds, as well as the practical impact that donors and fundraisers have had on patient care in St. Vincent’s Hospitals.
The list is, by no means exhaustive, but does demonstrate how important donors and fundraisers are to the wellbeing of our patients. Broadly the investments are across medical research, medical education and equipment, as well as investments in patient and family comforts, and equipment.
We don’t generally highlight the donors who enabled these projects because many of them are made up of several smaller donations and many of our contributors wish to remain anonymous. Here are just some of the successes.
The investments we feature are making a hugely significant contribution to our patient care and will continue to do so for the years ahead. They clearly evidence that the various efforts our supporters have made to raise funds are central to our capacity to achieve our worldclass potential. We thank them again.
State-of-the-art Medical (Dosimetry) Software for our Medical Physicist Team:
Thanks to you, our donors, St. Vincent’s Healthcare Foundation has played a major role in the introduction of new dosimetry software within St. Vincent’s University Hospital’s Molecular Imaging and Theranostics Centre in Radiology. This upgrade for our professional team means they can now determine complex doses to organs and tumours for personalised cancer treatments faster and with greater accuracy than ever before. The software is the first of its kind in use in Ireland for Radioligand treatments (Radioligand Therapy is used instead of chemotherapy for advanced cancers). The team carrying out these treatments to slow or stop tumour growth, can now monitor radiation doses delivered during these types of treatments to minimise damage to healthy organs.
Up until now, dose calculations have been extremely labour-intensive and slow. Having new, faster software will change how the team work for patients, particularly those who have undergone other radiation treatments. They, and we, are extremely grateful to our donors who have made this massive improvement possible.
Dr Mathilde Colombié, Consultant Nuclear Medicine Physician said: “We are very grateful for this donation from St Vincent’s Foundation. Having the advanced dosimetry software will make a huge difference to how we perform our jobs. This sophisticated dosimetry software will enable us to measure radiation doses that patients receive much more efficiently and with a higher accuracy. The advanced functions it provides will also permit further improvement of the service”.