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RESEARCH
Sponsoring Respiratory Research
TB Vets Charitable Foundation is dedicated to funding innovative research and programs that will improve health and quality of life for those suffering from tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases.
“For more than 30 years, VGH/UBC Hospital Foundation has had a partnership with the TB Vets Charitable Foundation who have given us more than $2.5 million to date.”
Research at UBC
We support the TB Research Program at the University of British Columbia – Vancouver General Hospital. This program is considered to be one of the leading TB research laboratories in the world.
Quote from Dr. Yossef Av-Gay, Professor of Infectious Diseases at UBC:
“TB Vets’ support enables me and my team to better understand how TB behaves, how some drugs affect the way it spreads and develop new drugs with exciting potential. Your support is ensuring that one day TB will be eradicated.”
Research at Royal Columbian Hospital / SFU
Dr. Steven Reynolds, Site Medical Director at RCH/SFU is leading the research into improving outcomes for critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation.
The Lungpace Diaphragm System is designed to activate and exercise the diaphragm, using a temporary, minimally invasive, transvascular nerve stimulation catheter that is expected to save many lives, improve surviving patient outcomes and greatly reducing hospital care costs.
In the ICU we rely on mechanical ventilation to keep patients alive. It is complex and extremely costly. And the longer a patient is on mechanical ventilation, the more risk they run of ventilator induced lung injury and other life-threatening complications, like pneumonia and infection.
The longer a patient is on mechanical ventilation, the more the diaphragm, the primary muscle involved in breathing, weakens. The more the muscle weakens, the less likely it is that the patient will ever be able to breathe on their own again. We can improve their chances, and the outcomes for all ICU patients on ventilation, if they can be weaned faster.
TB Vets Recreation Therapy Program
Being treated for TB is often a lonely experience. Imagine being treated for 6 months to 24 months of indoor isolation away from family and friends. Without a source of personal enjoyment and relaxation, the experience would take a toll on the mental and emotional health of a person.
Your donations have also helped create the TB Vets Recreation Therapy Program for patients in long-term isolated care at the TB Vets Unit at Vancouver General Hospital – the only program of its kind in Canada.
Donations support patient comforts as well as the funding of a dedicated Recreation Therapist. This professional assesses patient’s and carries out tailored plans that benefit their cognitive, social and emotional well-being including music therapy, exercises, yoga, leisure activities and a nutrition program.