Media Advisory: Toronto Firefighters to Give Important Gift to Sunnybrook...With Santa's Help

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 18, 2012) - Members of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters' Association (TPFFA) will visit Sunnybrook this Wednesday, Dec. 19 to give an important and much-needed holiday gift to Sunnybrook's Ross Tilley Burn Centre.

This year, they've asked Santa to visit Sunnybrook early - and to bring valuable surgical equipment with him. This will give Sunnybrook's burn experts the best tools possible to treat their patients when it matters most.

The firefighters' $40,000 gift will cover the total cost of purchasing two novel monitoring devices called the pulse contour cardiac output (PiCCO), which measure crucial data regarding heart rate, heart function, vascular status and others via a non-invasive method (thermo dilution) by injecting cold saline.

"It helps to monitor patient status more effectively," says Dr. Marc Jeschke, the Ross Tilley Burn Centre's medical director. "It's like flying an airplane. Flying successfully and safely means knowing the data and what's going on around you. The PiCCO enables such information flow."

One of the Ross Tilley Burn Centre's most generous supporters, the TPFAA have donated over $600,000 to Sunnybrook over the past several years.

"As firefighters, we see the devastation fire causes and we want to help mitigate that as much as possible," says Ed Kennedy, president of the TPFAA. "It's a long journey for people who have been injured by fire and we want to help not just at the scene, but also at the hospital level."

Date & Time:	Wednesday, December 19, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.
Location:	Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave, outside H-wing

Photo & Interview Opportunities

Media are invited to attend the ceremony at 2:30 p.m. outside Sunnybrook's H-Wing, and to speak with members of Toronto's Fire Services and Sunnybrook's burn experts at 2:50 p.m. Santa and a Toronto fire truck will also be available for photos.

About the Ross Tilley Burn Centre:

The Ross Tilley Burn Centre is a state-of-the-art facility providing tertiary care for the majority of burn injury patients in Ontario. It is the only program in the province that provides a wide range of services from admission to follow-up and reconstructive surgery, and is the largest burn centre in Canada. After a rigorous review process, the Ross Tilley Burn Centre has become the first and only Canadian burn program verified by the American Burn Association.

About Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre:

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is inventing the future of health care for the one million patients the hospital cares for each year through the dedication of its more than 10,000 staff and volunteers. An internationally recognized leader in research and education and a full affiliation with the University of Toronto distinguishes Sunnybrook as one of Canada's premier academic health sciences centres. Sunnybrook specializes in caring for Canada's war veterans, high-risk pregnancies, critically-ill newborns, adults and the elderly, and treating and preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological and psychiatric disorders, orthopedic and arthritic conditions and traumatic injuries.