Sault Area Hospital Foundation Hosts Take 5: Love Local Event

On Thursday, March 27th, 2025, Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce members were invited for a special behind-the-scenes Take 5 Event at Sault Area Hospital, hosted by the Foundation. This event gave Chamber members an opportunity to interact with medical equipment funded through our generous donor community.

Guests were shown first-hand how donors make an impact on local healthcare. They had SAH Volunteer guided tours of Algoma District Cancer Program (ADCP) and Cardiac Catheterization Lab. They also saw equipment highlighted throughout the evening, including a new infant isolette, vital signs monitor, laparoscopic surgical tools, an IV medication pump and a vein viewer.

Infant Isolettes

Infant isolettes, also known as incubators, are for both full-term and premature babies. They control temperature and humidity, which is important for our smallest babies, who may be too little to control their own body temperature. These isolettes mimic the womb environment, which keeps babies safe and warm. Each isolette costs approximately $50,000, and several new isolettes have been funded over the past few years through generous community donations!

Vital Signs Monitor

Vital signs monitors are VITAL for patient care! They track and display a patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels and temperature in real-time, so nurses can have the information they need “at-a-glance”. They are used in almost every area of the hospital and each one costs $3,325. Community donations have helped replace more than a hundred monitors over the last couple years.

Laparoscopic Surgical Tools

Did you know entire surgeries can be performed through small incisions often resulting in faster recovery times with smaller scars? That’s because laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgeries, are now a best practice standard in medicine. In attracting new surgeons, it’s critical to keep equipment up-to-date – and tools like these do just that. Used for a variety of surgeries in the pediatric and adult surgical programs, participants at Take 5 had an opportunity to try them out in an interactive demo by moving small items from one cup to another using the tools.

Intravenous Medication Pump

This special pump is used to safely and efficiently deliver precise medicine on a specific schedule, or as needed by the patient, instead of needing to administer manually.

Vein Viewer

This specialized light used to locate veins accurately by projecting a real-time image of a patient’s veins onto the surface of the skin. Typically used in drawing blood or IV insertion, this helps to make patients more comfortable increasing the likelihood of successful vein access on the first attempt.

“It was great to have members of our community and Sault Chamber of Commerce come out to learn more about donor-funded equipment,” shares John Farrell, Donor Relations Specialist of Sault Area Hospital Foundation. “This event was an exciting opportunity for our community to see in-person the impact gifts make in funding vital equipment used at SAH. Thank you to SAH Biomedical Engineering Department for coordinating the equipment used for the event, SAH Volunteers for providing guided tours and of course, thank you to the Sault Chamber of Commerce for taking interest in our local hospital for a Take 5: Love Local spotlight.”

Take 5: Love Local Series is organized by the Sault Chamber of Commerce, for members to engage with local businesses and organizations.

Donations help us purchase critical medical equipment to serve the healthcare needs of our community!

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