BENCHMARKS
September 2009, Volume 14 issue 2
N ewsletter of the Roya l U niversit y Hosp ital Foun dation
The heart of the matter
2009 appeal is vital to patient care
In the hospital drama, they’re the
supporting characters working steadily
but silently in the background, aiding
the doctors and nurses as they strive
to improve their
patients’ lives.
Who are these
“As we learn more about
supporting
characters? They
the new monitors, we are
are the vital sign
monitors that
discovering new advantages
track a patient’s all the time.”
heart rate, blood
pressure, oxygen
level, respiratory rate and more—vital
information for determining and monitoring
a patient’s care.
“We cannot do our jobs without cardiac
monitors,” says Brenda Ferguson, Acting
Nurse Manager for the Intensive Care Unit
at Royal University Hospital. “They provide
us with baseline and current data which
assist us in ongoing patient treatment and
management decisions.”
Staff Appeal plays a vital role in Royal Vital Care
Ever work with a tool that quit in the middle
of a job? Now, imagine that tool is a vital
sign monitor connected to a critically ill
patient, and that you are on an elevator
transporting an unconscious patient to
another unit when the monitor goes black.
“That is a sick feeling,” says Kelly Johnson,
RN and Clinical Nurse Specialist for Heart
Health. “I just try to stay calm until that
elevator door opens. I don’t ever want
This fall, Royal University Hospital
Foundation has launched the Royal Vital
Care appeal with the goal of raising $2.8
million over two years to purchase new,
state-of-the-art vital
sign monitors for RUH.
In addition to 96 vital
sign monitors, the
campaign will also
fund the purchase of
24 defibrillators and
a central monitoring
system. Royal Vital
Care is an extension of
the Royal Care Campaign, which raised
$15 million for research, training and
patient-care at RUH.
“In a stressful environment, where
important decisions are often made
quickly, our doctors and nurses deserve
the very best tools on which to base their
treatment decisions,” says Arla Gustafson,
CEO of RUH Foundation. “These new
monitors will do that and more.” Dr. Anita Chakravarti, Anesthesiologist,
demonstrates the use of a new
(cont’d on page 4) state-of-the-art vital sign monitor at RUH.
to take another ride in an elevator with a unprecedented $15 million for education,
monitor that doesn’t work.” research and patient-care at RUH. The
goal of this year’s Staff Appeal is to build
That’s why Johnson and many other on that achievement by raising 10 percent
hospital personnel are supporting the Royal of the Royal Vital Care appeal from among
Vital Care appeal to replace 96 aging vital the physicians, nurses, administrators,
sign monitors at RUH. technicians and medical staff who work at
Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon
Five years ago, medical personnel at Health Region.
RUH donated more than $250,000 to the
Royal Care Campaign, which raised an
(cont’d on page 2)
 Leaving Your Mark
– the benefits of
Planned Giving
He’s an elderly farmer with terminal cancer.
And he’s changing his Will. When he
passes away, eight charities including Royal
University Hospital will benefit from his
generosity and gratitude.
“He lost his wife to cancer a couple of
years ago. They both had the benefit of
RUH being there, and they wanted to make
sure that whenever somebody else is in
their shoes, those facilities are still there
and may be even better,” says Jocelyn
Davey-Hawreluik, an investment advisor at
the Unity Credit Union who is assisting with
the Will. “More and more people are asking
me how to leave their money behind for
charity.”
A planned legacy can take the form of an
endowment, trust, will, life insurance policy
or other means that provides funding for
the charity of your choice, while avoiding
probate and income taxes in the future. “If
you’re going to have to pay so much
in tax to Canada Revenue Agency, you
might as well have it going to a charitable
organization of your choice,” says
Davey-Hawreluik.
Executed properly, with the help of a lawyer,
accountant and financial advisor, these
forms of planned giving can generate tax
savings both during your lifetime and for
your estate after your death.
“Simply put, a Will, as part of an overall
estate plan, will enhance your wealth,
minimize taxes, give your heirs the greatest
benefits, ensure that your intentions are
carried out and allow you to give to your
favourite charity,” says Crystal Taylor, a law
partner at MacPherson Leslie and Tyerman
and a member of the RUH Foundation
Planned Giving Advisory Committee.
She warns that without a Will in
Saskatchewan, you lose the legal right
to control the distribution of your
Lawyer Crystal Taylor, member of
RUH Foundation Planned Giving
Advisory Committee and partner at
MacPherson Leslie and Tyerman LLP.
estate, your assets could be sold under
unfavourable market conditions, your heirs
might have to pay tax that could otherwise
have been reduced or deferred and your
estate could be left in a legal tangle, delaying
settlement and increasing costs. “Preparing
a Will is one of the most important things
you can do for your spouse, children, friends
and favorite charity,” advises Taylor.
For further information about how to include
Royal University Hospital in your future
plans, please contact Bruce Acton, Director
of Development, at 306-655-6530.

(Royal Vital Care Staff Appeal… cont’d from page 1)

“Our medical team knows better than
anyone how important it is to replace these
old monitors, and we want to give them
the opportunity to have a lasting and vital
impact on the place where they work and
the patients they care for every day,” says
Arla Gustafson, CEO of the Royal University
Hospital Foundation.
“I am very excited to see the new monitors,
and that’s why I’m supportive of the
campaign,” says David Maier, a Registered
Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit who is
Kelly Johnson, RN,
Clinical Nurse Specialist for Heart Health
serving as a Staff Champion of the Royal Vital
Care appeal.
The Staff Appeal during September and
October will reach out to all personnel who
work at RUH, encouraging them to support
this initiative which goes to the very heart of
what they do. “This generation of hospital
staff deserves to work with the newest
generation of technology,” says Gustafson.
“By supporting Royal Vital Care, they are
supporting themselves and their patients.”

2

Filipino nurses settle in, thanks to a little
help from TD Bank Financial Group
They’re settling in, buying homes,
getting their drivers’ licenses, having
babies and sending their children off to
“Infometrics is a very interesting
school. It’s life as usual for almost 100
nurses who recently started work in the
Saskatoon Health Region—even though
they’ve just moved halfway around the
world.
They are nurses from the Philippines
who have come to work in Saskatoon
under a provincial government program
to recruit more foreign-trained nurses.
Thanks to a $75,000 donation from TD
Bank Financial Group and its TD Grants
in Medical Excellence Scholarship Fund,
Royal University Hospital Foundation
was able to provide $15,000 to assist
the Saskatoon Health Region with the
training and education of these new
recruits. When the first group of nurses
wrote the Canadian Registered Nurse
Examination the pass rate was an
unprecedented 84 percent, proving we
had recruited the very best.
Lette Ramos came to Saskatoon from
and new field for nurses.
It’s one of the major reasons
I came here to Canada.”
Manilla almost one year ago. Three
months later, her husband John and
their two children joined her. “I was very
happy to see them,” she says. Jason,
six years old, and John Edwards,
nine, made a quick transition into St.
Anne Elementary School and their new
community. “They like biking along the
river, swimming and playing in the park,”
Lette adds. The couple has bought a
car, and John is preparing for his driver’s
test.
Ramos works in the Oncology Unit
at Royal University Hospital. One of
her colleagues is Daniel Montecillo,
New recruits celebrate with
Bonnie Blakley, VP People Strategies,
Saskatoon Health Region (centre front).
who also arrived from the Philippines
last October. Montecillo considered
nursing in Britain and Ireland, but
chose Saskatoon and RUH because
of the many opportunities offered here
to advance his skills. His goal is to
study Nursing Infometrics, an area of
specialized nursing that uses computer
technology to gather, interpret and
analyze clinical data to the advantage
of patients and nursing in general.
“Infometrics is a very interesting and
new field for nurses,” says Montecillo.
“It’s one of the major reasons I came
here to Canada.”
He is grateful to Saskatoon Health
Region, Royal University Hospital
Foundation and TD Bank Financial
Group for easing the transition and
training for himself and his Filipino
colleagues: “It was beneficial to come
here as a group. We are strangers in
a foreign land, and it is very fortunate
to share the experience with someone
who has the same feelings and is facing
the same adjustment.”
3
 RUH Foundation
CEO’S
On my regular
Report (Royal Vital Care Appeal… cont’d from page 1)

“As we learn more about the new monitors,

walks across the
University Bridge,
I have followed
construction of
the new Irene
and Leslie Dubé
Centre for Mental
Health as it
takes shape on
the east bank
of the South
Saskatchewan. Arla Gustafson
The importance
of this new facility
to patients and their families was recently
brought home to me yet again, this time
by the actions of Jeanette Chenier.
In May, Jeanette ran the Saskatchewan
Marathon in honour of her son, Jeremy,
who suffered from a mental illness and,
tragically, committed suicide in 2004.
Jeannette dedicated her marathon to
raising money for the Royal University
Hospital Foundation Community Mental
Health Endowment, which will provide
much-needed funds for research,
training and community initiatives in the
area of mental health. Jeannette was
overwhelmed by the support of her friends
and family, who together pledged more
than $10,000 to her run.
As CEO of RUH Foundation, I am
honoured and humbled by Jeanette’s
determination and by the generosity of her
supporters. Mental illness is a silent killer
in our community and many people suffer
in secret. However, I am encouraged that
we can change that by speaking up and
supporting mental health through our
words and deeds—just as Jeanette and
her supporters have done.
we are discovering new advantages all the
time,” says David Maier, a Registered Nurse in
the Intensive Care Unit. “We realize how much
more information we can get from them.
We’ll see trends more quickly. Stay on top of
things. If a patient is deteriorating, we will be
able to detect it more quickly than before.”
The Saskatoon Health Region has already
replaced 77 vital sign monitors at RUH. The
remaining monitors are increasingly outdated
and under repair. “The old monitors break
down and can no longer be fixed because
the manufacturer doesn’t make replacement
parts anymore,” notes Ying Zhu, Manager of
Clinical Engineering for the Saskatoon Health
Region. “New monitors are a top priority.”
“Our medical staff and nurses will be able
to provide better quality care to critically ill
patients when we have new monitors installed
throughout RUH,” says Dr. Vernon Hoeppner,
Head of the Department of Medicine for
the Saskatoon Health Region and College
In front of the new PotashCorp MRI Centre (lt-rt): Arnie Arnott, Volunteer Chair RUH Foundation;
Dallas Howe, Chair PotashCorp Board of Directors; MLA Jocelyn Schriemer;
Bill Doyle, President and CEO PotashCorp; Maura Davies, CEO Saskatoon Health Region;
of Medicine. “The technology will allow us
to improve care and prevent complications
through better patient management.”
Doctors and nurses are also anticipating
the advantages of a centralized monitoring
system that will consolidate a patient’s vital
sign records, allowing medical staff to analyze
data instantly, in real time. Central monitors
will be able to track and store this essential
data over the course of 96 hours, and doctors
will be able to access the data remotely.
“With new cardiac monitors, we won’t have
to wait for vital sign data to be sent over
from another hospital,” says Heather Miazga,
Nurse Manager for the Coronary Care Unit.
“If a doctor on the Sixth Floor wants to review
patient data, all he or she will have to do is
look at the central monitor. The data will be
right there.”
Saving precious minutes—and precious
lives—at RUH, Saskatchewan’s largest critical
care hospital.
Katherine Daniels, St. Paul’s Hospital Board.

Our Board of Directors is committed to

building the Community Mental Health
Endowment to $2.5 million and was,
therefore, thrilled to add close to $500,000
in net proceeds from our share of Hospital
Home Lottery 24. Thank you again to
everyone who supported The Future in
Mind Campaign and the Hospital Home
Lottery, and to all those who have and
will contribute to the Community Mental
Special EVENT
Recognizing a Corporate Leader
Health Endowment.
On July 15 the curtain opened on the new In 2004 during the Royal Care Campaign it
I’d also like to pay tribute to the dedicated PotashCorp MRI Centre at Royal University stepped up again, contributing $1.5 million
medical personnel at RUH including RN Hospital, named in honour of a good in matching funds for the PotashCorp Chair
Kathy Lyle, who recently retired after 36 corporate citizen that has given so much in Clinical Research at Royal University
years of service. We misquoted Kathy in to the health of our community. Back in Hospital. Please visit RUH, A Wing, Main
a previous issue of Benchmarks, and for 1992, PotashCorp joined the campaign Floor, to see the beautiful mural capturing
that we apologize. A long and dedicated to bring the first MRI to Royal University the exciting history of medical imaging in
career and community volunteerism speak Hospital and Saskatchewan by pledging Saskatchewan.
louder than words. to match all donations up to $1.5 million.

4
Staff Profile
Three Champions
for a Cause
David Maier is a Registered Nurse with
a flair for technology, so when an aging
vital sign monitor breaks down, he’s often
called in to troubleshoot. “I have a high
tolerance for frustration,” he says. Even
so, he welcomes the day when the old,
unreliable vital sign monitors are replaced
with reliable state-of-the-art machines.
“A lot of the problems with the old
monitors aren’t something you can tinker
with anymore. They just need to be
replaced,” says Maier, a Coordinator in
the Intensive Care Unit at RUH.
Maier is one of three Staff Champions
who have lent their names and faces to
the Royal Vital Care appeal. The other
two Staff Champions are Kelly Johnson,
Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse
Specialist for Heart Health, and Dr.
Chakravarti, Department of Anesth-
esiology, Saskatoon Health Region and
College of Medicine. As respected and
dedicated medical specialists, they’re
supporting the campaign to raise $2.8
million (including approximately 10 percent
or $280,000 from health care staff) to
replace the aging vital sign monitors and
defibrillators at RUH.
That day can’t come soon enough for
Johnson, who cares for critically ill heart
patients. Far too often, the old vital sign
monitors simply quit or, even worse, set David Maier, RN and Staff Champion,
off a false alarm. “We have to treat the relies on vital sign monitors in ICU.
alarm seriously until we figure out that it’s
the machine,” she says. “I decided
to become a Staff Champion because patient safety by decreasing the likelihood
I know the importance of having monitors of errors and promoting new initiatives in
that work every time. I’m very excited quality of care and quality assurance,” says
about that.” Dr. Chakravarti, who is also a Volunteer
Board Member of RUH Foundation. “They
Dr. Chakravarti spent more than 25 years will complement the care and compassion
in OR, where vital sign monitors are critical of health care workers in the management
for monitoring unconscious patients during of their patients.”
surgery. The new monitors will “increase

Kudos
BMO Financial Group
Representatives of BMO Financial Group donned “scrubs”
to tour the renovated Operating Rooms at RUH, work
completed thanks to their generous donation of $150,000 to
the Royal Care Campaign. In recognition, a plaque has been
mounted designating the BMO Financial Group OR Family
Waiting Room. Every year close to 9,000 patients undergo
surgery at RUH, and family members often gather here to
await the outcome and make important decisions at a difficult
time. “BMO has a long-standing commitment to support
organizations that improve the social well-being and quality of David Maier, RN and Staff Champion,
life of our employees and of the citizens and the communities relies on vital sign monitors in ICU
where we do business,” says Ken Segboer, Vice-President,
Saskatchewan District, BMO Financial Group.
BMO team tours OR (lt-rt): Kelly Walker, Harold Halyk,
Ken Segboer, Kieron Kilduff and Tanis Taylor.

5

NHL hockey star Jarret Stoll has earned a place in the hearts and
hallways of Royal University Hospital. In just four years, the Jarret
Stoll Celebrity Golf Classic has raised more than $500,000 for
the care and comfort of sick children and their families at RUH. In
recognition of Stoll’s fundraising efforts, a special ceremony was
held at RUH in June to name one of the pediatric family waiting
areas the Jarret Stoll Comfort Zone.
“It’s great to be here,” says Stoll, who grew up in Neudorf and
Yorkton. “It’s important to have a waiting area like this for families to
make their days easier at a stressful time.”
During this special event, a cheque for $25,000 was presented by
Felix Kerbler of Boston Pizza on 51st, the presenting sponsor of
the annual celebrity golf tournament. Funds raised by the event are
invested in the Jarret Stoll Patient Comfort Fund Endowment for
Special EVENT
Rockin’ for a Royal Cause
Two seminal events occurred in 1955—Elvis Presley released
his first album and Royal University Hospital opened its doors.
And we’ve been rockin’ and rollin’ ever since! In October, these
two celebrated institutions will come together at the Rockin’
Royal Ball, sponsored by PotashCorp, celebrating four decades
of rock and roll music while raising funds for the Royal University
6
Hockey Star
Scores Big
at RUH
Pediatric patient Adam Silbernagel gets a lift from Jarret Stoll
Children at RUH. Interest earnings from the endowment have been
used to purchase a number of important items for the Pediatric
Unit including sleep chairs for family members, vital sign monitors,
baby swings, children’s furniture, activity tables and DVDs.
“It’s wonderful that a young man like Jarret Stoll, who has made
a career for himself in the NHL, will come back to his home
province and make a difference in the lives of so many,” says Arla
Gustafson, CEO of Royal University Hospital Foundation.
Stoll was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 2002. In 2008 he
was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he wears jersey #28.
The next Jarret Stoll Celebrity Golf Classic is scheduled for June
24 - 25, 2010, at the Moonlake Golf and Country Club. For more
information on the golf tournament and the endowment, please call
306-655-1984 or visit www.jarretstollgolf.com.
Royal University Hospital Foundation's
ROCKIN’ ROYAL BALL
Presented by
feAtuRINg pAst deCAdes Of ROCK
Hospital Foundation’s Royal Vital Care appeal. The event is
slated for Saturday, October 3 at the Delta Bessborough Hotel;
tickets are $300 each. Come as your favourite rock star/band or
in black tie. (Now, wasn’t Black Tie the name of a David Bowie
album?) For tickets call Candace at 306-655-6501 or e-mail
ruhfoundation@saskatoonhealthregion.ca.
 Gerald Salter, of Swift Current, transplant
recipient and STEM Board Member, finds
comfort in a new specialized chair.

Campaigning
for Comfort
Celine Hounjet knows that a little
comfort goes a long way. That’s why
she’s rallying behind a fundraising
campaign to purchase six specialized
high-backed chairs for stem cell
transplant patients on Unit 6100, now
under renovation at Royal University
Hospital. Each chair costs about
$1,600, so the goal is to raise $10,000.
The chairs come with a high price tag
because they must meet strict hospital
standards as well as the special needs
of patients who have been weakened
by their stem cell treatments. “They
may want to sit and read or have a
place to sit and talk with visitors,” says
Hounjet, Volunteer Chair of STEM, a
patient advocacy group dedicated to
the provincial blood and bone marrow
transplant program. “It’s more about
patient comfort than anything else.”
Renovations to Unit 6100 are being
undertaken to accommodate stem
cell patients who must now go out of
province for treatment. “The goal is that
we will not need to send anybody out
of province in the future,” says Hounjet.
The RUH 6100 Chair and Comfort
Campaign is off to a good start, with
about $4,000 in the coffers. To donate
to STEM’s campaign, contact RUH
Foundation at 306-655-1984.

Donations to Heart Function Clinic: Leader of the Pack

Abbott Laboratories Ltd. $ 50,000.00 Congratulations to Greg Sutton, the

Kudos
Medtronic of Canada Ltd. $ 50,000.00
AstraZeneca $ 25,000.00
Pfizer Canada Inc. $ 20,000.00
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Canada Inc. $ 9,000.00
Servier Canada Inc. $ 5,000.00
Boehringer Ingelheim
(Canada) Ltd $ 2,500.00
first person to make a donation through
the new automated Donor Kiosk in the
Main Mall at Royal University Hospital.
He made the donation while waiting
for his wife, who was at a medical
appointment. “It was an interesting
and convenient way to donate,” says
Sutton of TinyEye Therapy Services,
which offers software for online speech

A Healthy Heart
Dr. Colin Pearce has a big heart, so much
so, the cardiologist at Royal University
Hospital has undertaken a fundraising drive
to establish a Heart Function Clinic for people
living with chronic heart failure. “The key is
that it is a multi-faceted team approach to
treating the patient,” says Dr. Pearce. He
is spearheading his efforts with colleagues
Patrick Robertson, Dr. Rashpal Basran, Stuart
Hutton and Judy Davis through Chronic
Disease Management and Heart Health
Programs.
RUH Foundation (over 3 yrs) $ 75,000.00 therapy for children. “We serve children
in remote communities so anytime
we can give back to the community,
The clinic will offer treatment, follow-up and we take that opportunity.” Everyone is
prevention programs that improve heart invited to check out the new multimedia
function and quality of life for patients, thereby Donor Recognition Wall in the Main Mall
decreasing their use of acute care services. at RUH!
About $200,000 has been raised to date,
mainly through industry appeals. As well,
RUH Foundation has committed $25,000
per year for three years. The Heart Function
Clinic is set to open this fall at RUH on a pilot
basis, with the long-term goal of establishing
a permanent clinic supported through the
Saskatoon Health Region.

7
 Publications Mail Agreement No. 41571019
RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ITEMS TO:
Royal University Hospital Foundation
103 Hospital Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0W8

Phone: 306-655-1984
Fax: 306-655-1979
Internet: www.ruhf.org
E-mail: ruhfoundation@saskatoonhealthregion.ca
Charitable business number: 11927 9131 RR0001

Volunteer Board of Directors, RUH Foundation Staff

SPECIAL
Gifts
Commemorative gifts are made to
honour loved ones and friends to mark
2009–2010 CEO, Arla Gustafson
Director of Development, Bruce Acton, CFRE
Manager of Finance, Maria Styacko, CA
Operations Coordinator, Marlene Saretsky
Donor Stewardship Officer, Margot Weiner
or celebrate special occasions (“In Fund Development Coordinator, Candace Boersma
Honour of”) or as lasting memorials (“In Part-time Communications Adviser, Amy Jo Ehman
Memory of”). We thank family members Administrative Assistants, Lisa Gaudet and Kim Parent
and friends who paid tribute to the
following individuals between April 1
Benchmarks Freelance Writer, Jenny Gabruch
and June 30, 2009.
Benchmarks Copy Editor/Proofreader, Wanda Drury

In Honour of Executive Commitee

Chris Muir Chair, Arnie Arnott, President and CEO, Saskatchewan
Ed Trefiak Blue Cross
Vice Chair, Bill Johnson, Director, Royal University Hospital
Public Affairs, PotashCorp
In Memory of Past Chair, Zeba Ahmad, Pharmacist; Foundation Purpose
Director of Development, Phreedom Santé Inc.
Verna Bernhardson Kenneth King Member at Large, Dr. Anita Chakravarti, Department of
Statement:
Klaas Boersma Ronald Knight Anesthesiology, Saskatoon Health Region and College of
Medicine
The RUH Foundation creates
Pieternella Boersma Rose Knight
Leon Bomok John Lisch
CEO, Arla Gustafson, RUH Foundation excellence in and impacts
Cohen J. Boorman John Loeppky
Members at Large health care by raising funds
Marina H. Bundrock Dale R. MacGowan Dan Anderson, Partner, MacPherson, Leslie & Tyerman, LLP to anticipate and respond
Jeremy Chenier Gwen McDonald Sandra Blevins, VP Clinical and Operations Support,
Dennis Demong Bonnie Nordgulen Saskatoon Health Region to needs for research,
John Cross, Business and Mentorship Adviser
Peter F. Dyck Brett W. Nordgulen
Blair Davidson, Partner, Hergott Duval Stack LLP education, and patient-care.
Carrington C. Engele Elizabeth Rolfes Kim Goheen, Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial
Liliane Felling Norman Sarich Officer, Cameco
Amin Gelani Joseph Schlosser Lori Isinger, President, RUH Auxiliary
Jim Rhode, President and Owner, Davis Machine Company
Elizabeth George Mary Swityk Royal University Hospital Foundation is a member of
(1960) Ltd. the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the
Beverley Goodman Victoria Tluchak Crystal Smudy, Chief Financial Officer, Saskatchewan Canadian Association of Gift Planners, the Association
Paul Grant Doris Turnbill Research Council of Fundraising Professionals, and the Health Care
Garry Guenther Michael J. Wall Dr. Jim Thornhill, Associate Dean of Research and Public Relations Association.

Alvin M. Gustafson Roger Walls Graduate Studies, College of Medicine, University of

Royal University Hospital Foundation does not sell,
Saskatchewan
Harvey Heichman Dan Zamkowicz Sue Williams, Manager of Resource Development,
trade or lease the personal information of its donors.
If you wish to be removed from our mailing lists,
Christopher Karam Mendel Art Gallery please contact us at the RUHF office:

Printing Services Document Solutions

966-6639 • University of Saskatchewan