A chance to double your dollar for health care is being delivered with the launch of Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) Foundation's Light A Bulb campaign.

The 38th annual holiday appeal is supporting the expansion of the ultrasound department at the hospital.

Thanks to a generous matching gift from Kurt and Jutta Knuever, all Light A Bulb donations made on GivingTuesday, Dec. 3, will be matched up to $250,000.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so heartwarming to see our community come together every holiday season to support health care excellence,鈥� says Kate McBrearty, VJH Foundation executive director. 鈥淭his year, your contributions will help create a state-of-the-art, regional ultrasound department, so that we can meet the growing health care needs of our community today 鈥� and in the future.鈥�

As our population ages and grows, and as physicians increasingly rely on scans for clinical decision-making, VJH is seeing a dramatic increase in demand for medical imaging of all kinds. Demand for ultrasound, in particular, has skyrocketed and wait times have doubled in the past three years. Future projections expect the need for ultrasound to increase by more than 100 per cent in the next two decades.

鈥淲e know that the current ultrasound department is operating beyond its capacity and we need to address this,鈥� says McBrearty. 鈥淔ollowing our successful expansion of CT scanning services, our next priority is bringing the required ultrasound services to VJH as quickly as possible.

Tania Robinson knows all too well the importance of timely access to ultrasound imaging. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 at the age of 43, after an ultrasound-guided biopsy of a lump in her breast.

鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful that I鈥檝e been able to get the imaging I need at VJH. I鈥檝e been able to stay close to home, with my son 鈥� where it matters most,鈥� says Robinson. 鈥淏ut I worry about others who might not be so lucky. With our region growing so rapidly, we need to expand to keep up.鈥�

As part of the expansion, the size of existing ultrasound rooms will be increased, making it easier to accommodate stretchers and do inpatient exams. A more efficient layout will improve patient turnaround times and staff efficiencies. The expansion will result in two new rooms and two new ultrasound machines that will add more than 5,000 new scans each year.

"This project will create an ultrasound department with the capacity to meet the needs of patients today, and for the next 20 years,鈥� says McBrearty. 鈥淓xtra ultrasound capacity means quicker access, faster diagnoses and better outcomes.鈥�

Donate online at , call 250-558-1362 or visit the Foundation office in person (located at VJH, in the Jubilee building across from the pharmacy).