Each year, the Foundation purchases one or more items from an equipment "wish list" requested by the staff and administration of the Annapolis Community Health Centre. This is equipment that would not be bought without our funding. Over the last two years we have purchased a laser, a surface EMG machine and a state-of-the-art digital x-ray processing machine. In 2006 we are assisting with the establishment of the new Collaborative Care Centre, an area within ACHC where there are offices for family physicians, visiting specialists, nurse practioner Jacinta Harvey and Public Health nurse Karen Lewis.

The Foundation also provides funding for equipment in other facilities used by patients who would normally get medical services at the ACHC. For example, we contributed toward the purchase of fluoroscopy x-ray equipment at Soldiers Memorial Hospital and a fetal heart monitor for Valley Regional.

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about our Equipment Funding Program.

How does the Foundation decide what to buy?

Each year the staff and administration of ACHC put together a list of the capital equipment they need, or would like to have, and give it to the Foundation. The Foundation members discuss the list with the CEO and decide which pieces they will purchase, taking into consideration revenue for the year.

Why does the Foundation pay for equipment instead of the Government funding it?

Government funding for capital equipment is very limited in the district and is distributed among all the facilities. Most of the equipment we buy would not be purchased for the Annapolis Community Health Centre without our funding. For example, we helped buy a digital x-ray processor that allows specialists in other facilities to see x-rays taken at ACHC. This saves our patients the burden of having to travel to see the specialist. Our facility would not have had this state-of-the-art equipment without the extra funding.

Does the Foundation pay for anything besides equipment?

Yes, we fund an outreach program that distributes money through a grant application process. The Healthy Kids/Active Kids program, for example, is just one of the health and wellness initiatives we fund through these grants. We also contribute financially to the mobile breast screening van which visits ACHC once a year and makes this service more accessible to women in the area.