Ninth Annual Poker Run

The 9th Annual KAPOA, The Valley Gazette SFVH Foundation Poker Run 2021

Good news. The 2021st edition of the ninth Annual Poker Run starts here and now. Virtual again this year so no boats nor hamburgers. As before, cards will be drawn for each $200 donation and winning hands will be determined on the afternoon of Saturday July 24. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter.

Prizes remain the same as last year: 1st-$500; 2nd-$200; 3rd-$150; 4th-$100; & 5th-$50, for a total of $1,000. The prize amounts are courtesy of two greatly appreciated anonymous donors.

In keeping with social distancing recommendations, donor contact will now rely even more heavily on emails and cell phones. More phone calls and fewer visits.

As requested by many, we now increase emphasis on the quick, convenient and easy use of E-Transfer to remit your donation. Please note our new email address for Poker Run E-Transfers. It’s just this easy. Login to your on-line bank; select the E-Transfer option; enter the new email address kapoa.poker@gmail.com; enter the standard $200 for full participation (or any amount you prefer) as the amount; no security (password) prompt question NOR password is necessary because the deposit is automatically accepted as an auto-deposit; and it’s very important to include in the message all the information required to mail your tax receipt, namely your name and mailing address.

Or, you continue to have the option to donate by credit card. You simply pass the card information to your Poker Run contact verbally over the phone and subsequently the Foundation staff will process the charge. Or call Lynne Maclean at 905-802-6327 and she will enthusiastically collect your credit card information.

Cheques and even cash will still be accepted, with a smile, but the first two options tend to be faster, easier, and more convenient. Regardless how you choose to donate, you will receive a tax receipt for the full amount donated. Cheques payable to the SFVH Foundation can still be mailed to KAPOA, Box 297, Barry’s Bay, ON, K0J 1B0. Again, please be sure to include the mailing address where you want your tax receipt to be mailed.

In addition to the wonderful, warm feeling we get making donations to our local hospital, St. Francis Memorial Hospital, it’s nice to know that all our money is being spent to acquire new equipment, especially as it improves the capabilities of the Emergency Department, which seems to be the part of the hospital most of us use most often.

This year we hope to raise sufficient funds to buy three different medical tools. First, a CPR Portable Machine, a chest compression device composed of a constricting band and half backboard, intended to be used as an adjunct to CPR during advanced cardiac life support by professional health care providers; second, a Doppler Ultrasound, a non-invasive test that can be used to estimate the blood flow through your blood vessels by bouncing high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to produce images, but cannot show blood flow; and third, a Tonometer, an instrument for measuring the pressure in a part of the body, such as the eyeball (a test for glaucoma) or a blood vessel.

Automated CPR Machine (Lucas)

This item would be new and is needed to support the Respiratory Zone and Telemedicine area of ED used for Surge in patient volumes and/or in the event of mass casualties.
This piece of equipment is essential in pandemic planning and Emergency Response/Disaster Response. The lifesaving device continues effective compressions to allow rescuers to focus on other events and manage airway effectively. This is very new technology.

Doppler

This is a hand held device with an LCD screen that displays data in waveform or as a rate (heart rate or pulse). It provides clinicians with a non-invasive way to assess blood flow in limbs, or vessels such as an artery or vein. It can help to detect issues such as venous stasis or arterial disease. In the ER it is used as an essential screening and assessment tool to help identify next steps to treat more serious conditions. It can also be used to detect a fetal heart rate. Our current Doppler unit is past its due date and the new one would offer enhanced technology.

Ocular Tonometer

An instrument used to measure tension or pressure, intraocular pressure (fluid pressure) inside the eye. This device is used to identify the risk of and worsening conditions such as glaucoma. Early detection with sudden changes in vision is important as treatment can delay progression.

This device will allow a quicker diagnosis in the Emergency Department and not necessarily require consultation with external specialist. The ER currently does not have a tonometer.

Raise the Ceiling

Check out the $ 17,420 cheque for 2020 during the pandemic, with everyone masked:

Your ongoing participation over the years and continuing through the pandemic is greatly appreciated. By combining our efforts to the betterment of our local community hospital, typically only a few minutes away for most of us, we should very likely exceed $100,000 when the amount this year is added to contributions over the previous 8 years.

As from the beginning, this 2021 Poker Run is the result of the combined efforts of the foundation, known as the St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation; plus our favourite local newspaper, The Valley Gazette; and rounded out by KAPOA, or more specifically, the Kamaniskeg Area Property Owners Association.

A hearty thanks to all volunteers, companies, associations, & hospital management, for jointly making this event possible and a special thanks to the donors who make the actual donations. Thank You All Again!

Together, we can raise the ceiling. And please tell a friend or two. Better yet, join us as a canvasser with every five new boat donations you bring in getting us $1,000 closer to the substantial ER upgrade comprising all three medical tools.

Stay safe and let’s share our good fortune with our hospital.

Thank you again from those past & present.