Donated Vein Finders Find a Home at Yarmouth Regional Hospital

An anonymous donor reached out to Yarmouth Hospital Foundation in the summer of 2022 with an offer to fully fund the purchase of two vein finders for Yarmouth Regional Hospital. The first of the two went, naturally, to Laboratory Services. The second went to Ambulatory Care, which shares it with the Women and Children’s Health department. Having experienced the difference that a vein finder can make in their own medical care, our donor chose to make a difference for other people and improve health care in the Tri-Counties.

Yarmouth Hospital Foundation fully supports our donors’ rights to anonymity; however, we also believe in saying ‘thank you’. It is important to us to let our donors know that their gifts have made a difference in their regional hospital. So, as we often do, we reached out to the department managers for their feedback. Their responses thrilled us, so we’re happy to share this with you.

Sarah McKinnon is the manager of Laboratory Services. She was only too happy to tell us that the vein finder is “so beneficial for patients and for staff.” New hires are being trained in the use of the vein finder only when they’re comfortable collecting blood without it first as the equipment is so helpful that people might end up relying on it. “The vein finder has been perfect. We are so very grateful and appreciative to the donor for this equipment: thank you!”

Stephanie Pitman, assistant manager of Women and Children’s Health department, echoes Sarah’s comments. She is a huge fan of the new vein finder after having used it herself. “It’s extremely valuable,” she tells us. “It does more than I could imagine. The vein glows. It takes the guesswork out of it — sometimes you just can’t see the vein and it is so helpful!”

She told us of her experience with a newborn patient in her department. Six attempts had been made to start an IV for their tiny patient when she remembered the vein finder and borrowed it from Ambulatory Care. With the vein finder’s help, she was able to start that IV on her first try. “You have to tell the donor — your kind, supportive donor — this is so great and we are so grateful!”

Both managers have described the vein finders as ‘life-changing’ and emphasized how appreciative they are for this generous donation. “It gives you the pieces of the puzzle you need to do your job,” Stephanie notes. “To all the foundation’s donors, thank you for all our tools. We could not function as a department without your support.”