Moncton, May 2, 2024 – Thanks to its generous donors, the CHU Dumont Foundation raised over $7 million to equip the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre (Dumont UHC) with a surgical robot and the means to digitize nine operating rooms.
The Driving Surgery Forward campaign launched in 2022, wrapped up this evening with donors and volunteers in attendance.
“At the time, Nova Scotia was the only province east of Quebec to have a surgical robot, and the Saint John Regional Hospital was in the process of acquiring one. Our goal at the Foundation was to bring this technology to the Dumont UHC, for the benefit of our patients, as well as to enhance the working conditions of healthcare professionals and facilitate recruitment of new surgeons. We also saw this large-scale project as an opportunity to expand collaboration between healthcare professionals, especially with The Moncton Hospital,’’ recalled Sébastien Dupuis, Chair of the Board of Directors of the CHU Dumont Foundation.
According to Dupuis, the Dumont UHC’s reputation is well established thanks to its healthcare workers, physicians, and researchers. “This is why the Foundation supports projects such as robotic surgery and is committed to continuing to improve healthcare and services to ensure a better experience for patients, their loved ones, and medical teams.”
Victor Hachey is the first patient to have undergone an operation involving the surgical robot on February 1st, 2023. “Two months after my surgery, I went hiking in Arizona at an altitude of 6,000 ft. with my wife and some friends. They had trouble keeping up with me, said Victor. Today, I have no pain and I’m in great shape. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Breault and the entire operating room team for their extraordinary care.”
According to Dr. Jocelyne Hébert, surgeon at the Dumont UHC and Medical Director at Vitalité Health Network, the surgical robot has revolutionized surgical care at the Dumont UHC and in New Brunswick. “In addition to enabling patients to recover more quickly, robotic surgery allows minimally invasive procedures and improves patient outcomes, notably by reducing complications. The benefits don't stop there; this technology also plays an important role in the retention and recruitment of high-calibre healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Hébert proudly.
“Thank you to the CHU Dumont Foundation and its generous donors, who made the acquisition of the surgical robot possible. I also salute the surgical services team, who managed to close the first year of the robotic surgery program at the top of the Canadian rankings for the number of surgeries performed in the first year, without a single complication requiring open surgery. All in all, this is a great success story for the CHU Dumont Foundation, for our surgical teams and for the patients who benefit from it,” said Dr. France Desrosiers, President and CEO of Vitalité Health Network.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, medical staff, employees, patients and their loved ones, I extend a warm thank you to all our donors and volunteers. With your help, since February 1, 2023, more than 350 patients have benefited from this technology at the Dumont UHC,” Dupuis concluded.
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For more information:
Johanne Lise Landry
Director of Communication
506 862-4285