The three Lions clubs in Langley have pooled their contributions, and received a matching grant from the Lions Club International Foundation, to purchase an incubator for the newly-expanded level one nursery at Langley Memorial Hospital.
The Langley Lions, the Fort Langley Lions and the Aldergrove Lions combined forces to raise money from a variety of community activities throughout the year. Last June, they applied to the Lions Club International Foundation for a matching grant and recently received the news that their grant application was successful.
With the matching grant, and the contributions from the three Lions clubs in Langley, the total donation to the hospital is almost $25,000, which allows them to purchase an incubator for the nursery.
With the expansion and renovation of the hospital’s maternity unit, new medical equipment was required to support the increase in patient rooms and expanded services. The level one nursery needed a variety of specialized equipment, including incubators, to provide high-level care to premature babies born at the hospital. These babies don’t yet have the ability to keep themselves warm, so an incubator is used to monitor their body temperature and to heat or cool the air as needed.
Incubators also protect premature babies from infection, noise, and light, and can provide humidified air to keep moisture in their delicate skin. New incubators allow physicians and nurses to maintain Langley Memorial Hospital’s commitment to keep mother and baby together during the first hours and days of baby’s life.
“Providing the funds to purchase this incubator allows the Lions Clubs of Langley, and the Lions Club International Foundation, to fulfil our mission of community service and humanitarian need at a local level. This donation means a lot to all our members because of the impact it will have on families in Langley,” said David Coppin, past H-3 zone chair.