Tree of Hope 2021: Cardiac Monitors for Emergency Care

The Barrhead Healthcare Tree of Hope campaign is hoping to raise more than $120,000 for four cardiac monitors as well as an accompanying monitoring unit for the nurses’ station.

The need in a year that asked a lot

It’s a big ask—one of the biggest in recent memory—but it’s also the right one. This year, our Tree of Hope is focused on the Emergency Department, aiming to bring in four bedside cardiac monitors and a central monitoring unit for the nurses’ station. The total need is more than $120,000 (the monitors run just over $25,000 each).

ER teams already use limited bedside monitoring; with only one unit available, staff must triage which patient can be watched continuously. The upgrade planned for 2021 places a monitor at each ER bed and ties them to a central screen so nurses can watch rhythms and vital signs for multiple patients at once—at a glance.

Why it matters for patients and families

Cardiac monitoring isn’t just for heart attacks. It supports patients with chest pain, breathing difficulties, serious infections, medication reactions, and anyone whose condition can change quickly. Having multiple monitored beds means safer sedation, faster escalation when rhythms change, and quieter reassurance for families who see care happening in real time.

“To have the ability to utilize cardiac monitoring at the bedside… will benefit a lot of people who come through our doors,” says site manager Sherri-May Hotchkiss. “It’s a lofty goal—but an important one.”

A new rhythm for Tree of Hope

Beginning this year, Tree of Hope alternates focus between the Barrhead Healthcare Centre and Barrhead Continuing Care (Keir Care)—a simple way to keep donor dollars working across the whole care journey, right here at home.

How to give safely (2021)

For pandemic safety, please mail your donation:

Barrhead Healthcare Centre – Tree of Hope
4815-51 Ave, Barrhead, AB T7N 1M1
Make cheques payable to Barrhead Healthcare Auxiliary and write “Tree of Hope” in the memo.

Recognition levels (as always, every gift counts):

• $10 adds a bulb to the tree

• $250 places an ornament

• Stars: Bronze $500, Silver $1,000, Gold $2,500

Names are displayed on the Tree of Hope in admitting and acknowledged in Town and Country This Week.

Campaign dates: December 2021 through February 5, 2022
Questions? Call Sherri-May Hotchkiss at 780-305-3341 or Starlla Busch at 780-305-3324.