Save-On-Foods: Helping Local Hospitals

VICTORIA, BC — Today, Save-On-Foods stores in the Greater Victoria Area pledged an incredible $300,000 to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s It’s Critical campaign to expand critical care capacity at Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH). To support this commitment, eight Victoria area Save-On-Foods stores launched ‘Helping Local Hospitals Together’, a series of in-store initiatives to raise money for local critical care expansion, helping patients from across Vancouver Island.

From February 18 until March 17, 2021 Save-On-Foods customers at the participating stores can donate at the till. If customers are purchasing groceries online they can also donate at www.victoriahf.ca/help. Donations will support critical care equipment and resources that will have an immediate impact in local hospitals’ response to COVID-19, and increase future critical care capacity on the Island.

“I am thrilled that our Victoria area stores have pledged to raise $300,000 for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation to better serve patients from all across the Vancouver Island region,” said Save-On-Foods president Darrell Jones. “Our stores have always been the backbone of their communities and I am so proud that these stores have teamed up to provide outstanding service in their communities by supporting the life-changing work of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.”

‘Helping Local Hospitals Together’ will benefit the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s It’s Critical campaign to help build the Island’s first permanent High Acuity Unit (HAU) at RJH and fund critical care equipment. HAUs are an intermediate level of care between Acute Care units and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), for patients recovering from surgery, severe respiratory distress or those being treated for serious medical conditions like COVID-19. The level of care offered in an HAU is vital to managing hospitalization surges due to influenza, a pandemic response or mass casualty events by reducing pressure on emergency departments and ICUs.

Over the last ten years, RJH has seen an 83% increase in admissions to the ICU, and only a 38% increase in bed capacity—our hospitals need more resources to support the increased demand for critical care. Since April 2020 nearly 3,400 community members have donated to It’s Critical, bringing the campaign to $5.89 million of the $7 million goal.

“We’re tremendously grateful for the support of our friends at Save-On-Foods and its customers for supporting this initiative to help our local hospitals. Our community’s generosity will help our doctors, nurses and care teams as they face today’s healthcare challenges, and tomorrow’s needs,” says Avery Brohman, Executive Director, Victoria Hospitals Foundation. “Working together, we will improve care for Victoria area patients for many years to come—thank you.”

Participating Save-On Foods Stores:

• Fort and Foul Bay
• Pandora
• Tillicum
• University Heights
• Westside Village
• Langford
• Saanich
• Sidney

“We are really excited to partner up to help the Victoria Hospitals Foundation get closer to its goals,” said Save-On-Foods Fort and Foul Bay store manager Lionel Gjerde. “Our customers share our passion for supporting the community and their contributions to our Helping Local Hospitals Together initiatives will change lives.”

To learn more about future ‘Helping Local Hospitals Together’ in-store initiatives and critical care expansion in local hospitals, visit victoriahf.ca/help.