Photo: KGH Foundation

Day of Giving raises more than $1.2M for robotic surgical system

The community came together in a big way in support of the KGH Foundation’s annual Day of Giving.

A record-breaking $1.236 million was raised Wednesday — monies that will go directly toward the acquisition of “Vinni,” a state-of-the-art robotic assisted surgical system that will transform surgical care at Kelowna General Hospital.

Once operational, Vinni will be the first of its kind in the Interior Health region, a defining step toward elevating KGH as a centre of surgical excellence in the Southern Interior.

Through the generosity of several local families, every dollar raised Wednesday was matched up to $500,000.

In addition, Lois and Cliff Serwa stepped up late Wednesday pledging an additional $500,000 in matching funds which could bring the overall total raised to $2 million in the coming weeks.

“Once again we are absolutely blown away by the generosity of our community,” said KGH Foundation CEO Allison Young.

“To see so many people rally behind robotic-assisted surgery is truly inspiring and powerful to witness.”

The total cost of the robotics program is $12 million, with the foundation pledging $6 million of that.

Vinni will initially support procedures in urology, thoracic and colorectal surgery, many of which are cancer related and currently require patients to travel to Vancouver or Victoria.

“I’ve seen firsthand how life-changing robotic-assisted surgery can be for patients, for surgical teams, and for the entire health system,” said KGH chief of surgery Dr. Maurice Blitz.

“To know that this level of advanced care is coming to our hospital because of the generosity of our community is truly extraordinary.

“It’s something we can all be proud of because it’s not just transforming surgery, it’s our community supporting the very best health care for each other.”

Since its inception, Day of Giving has raised more than $6 million in support of health initiatives such as JoeAnna’s House, Foundry Kelowna, advanced stroke care, mental health programming, and the acquisition of a new 3T MRI for KGH.

Donations to the campaign are still being accepted.