RJH Surgical Team with Dr. McCracken
“You wouldn't believe how many people are involved, working together across departments - moving heaven, earth, chairs and robots to make this happen. Much of this is outside of normal processes, and people are just leaning in to help,” said Cathy Wenger, Project Director with the Enterprise Project Management Office, supporting the implementation of the robot on site.
The robot is called da Vinci Surgical Robotics System, and it is expected to be fully operational by approximately February to enhance the capabilities of surgeons who will have greater control of the instruments, starting with urology surgeries and expanding to other specialities.
Thanks to generous community donors to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation (VHF), patients will benefit from improved access to priority surgeries. The robot, used in prostate and bladder surgeries, will make procedures more precise, reduce the length of stay in our hospital and shorten recovery times for patients. Surgeons are excited about its ability to make accurate incisions, even in hard-to-reach areas, improving patient outcomes significantly.
Left to Right: Brian Jones, CNE, Angela Hartsell, CNE, Alison Dormuth, Director, RJH Surgery Lindsay Halldorson, CNL, Jon Baker, CNL.
This robot is one innovation in VHF's newly launched campaign, It's Time for Surgical Innovation, which has brought together an entire team of people and departments to make this vision a reality. The $17 million goal will help fund the da Vinci surgical robot and a suite of 50 best-in-class surgical instruments to bring more minimally invasive care to the Island in the divisions of ENT, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, and urology.
“We had a glitch with the interim space we had earmarked for training and education until the robot is ready for Operating Room 3 in February. It took a whole village to turn an operating room classroom into a space to house the robot, train and offer donor tours. FMO needed to remove the door so the robot could fit in the room, housecleaning came in and polished everything, the chairs and tables were moved out and stored, the code on the door changed… and this was just in two days, and is only one tiny piece of what needed to happen," said Alison Dormuth, Director, RJH Surgery & Regional Surgical Care Strategy."
Robotics will also prevent long-term strain for surgeons, as they will no longer need to lean over patients for hours at a time to perform prostate surgeries. This new technology will also help us recruit and retain top talent in the field.
Left to Right: Angus McCracken, Dr. Jeff McCracken, Dr. Iain McAuley, Visions Steering Committee Chair Charlotte Salomon KC, and Foundation CEO Avery Brohman.
A demonstration robot was on display at VHF's Visions gala this weekend. Dr. Jeff McCracken, and VHF's CEO Avery Brohman, spoke to the importance of robotics, inspiring 620 philanthropists in the room. The gala raised $2.75 million, bringing the campaign to the $6 million milestone in its $17 million endeavour.
For further reading or viewing:
- Learn more about VHF's campaign, It's Time for Surgical Innovation.
- Watch the video created by the Victoria Hospitals Foundation featuring Dr. Jeff McCracken, Chief Urologist, Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals and his son Angus as the younger Dr. McCracken.
- Read Dr. McCraken's letter about robotics.
- Read a prostate cancer patient story from Steve Marta.