It’s a major surprise for guests of a Synergy 8 golf tournament and the families of Saskatchewan. On Tuesday night, the group revealed its best kept secret yet and Global News got a special sneak peek.
Saskatchewan now has a new life-saving tool to help transport the province’s youngest patients within the Saskatoon Health Region and surrounding area, thanks to the generous donation of a pediatric ambulance by the group.
“We’re going to make an immediate impact on the care for children and not only children, the teams that are in it,” said Troy Davies, board member for Synergy 8.
“So the NICU and PICU team, we know that they’re going to get there safely. They have their own seats now with the semi in the front.”
“This whole truck is designed to be safer for travel.”
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The hefty new unit will also prove vital when going by air isn’t an option, or when bad weather poses issues for first responders trying to navigate the roads.
“You can’t control the weather and if you can’t go in the weather — this is going.”
As the father of two young boys, Synergy 8 board member Jason Hynd said he feels for a child and their family any time they need an ambulance. And since it’s already a stressful time, the more safe and secure the trip, the better.
“You want to be able to provide the best quality care for the kids in Saskatchewan,” said Hynd. “If we get together and raise money, then why wouldn’t we?”
The brand new ambulance also comes with all the bells and whistles: room for a little one’s family, infrared night vision cameras to detect wildlife, and bigger gas tanks so first responders won’t need to worry about fueling up while on a call.
“It’s got two transport bays — so for two stretchers — so we can get two patients at once which has come up almost monthly now, where we could go get two patients at one time,” said Davies.
According to Davies, the pediatric ambulance came at a price tag of $410,000 and will be road ready in a few days.
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More than 2,000 patients were transported to hospital by that ambulance and the need continues to grow.
Since last December, when the capital campaign began, Synergy 8 — a group of now nine guys — say they’ve worked tirelessly to improve the lives of children and families in need.
Both board members say this pediatric ambulance wouldn’t be possible without the support of key sponsors and the people of this province.