The lobby of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon was bustling with chatter on Wednesday; the kickoff for the hospital’s annual two-day radiothon.  

Calls are flowing in from donors all across the province, each of them supporting the Point-of-Care Ultrasound, or POCUS, program which brings portable ultrasound care right to the patient.  

Troy Davies is the CEO of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation and a former paramedic. He says the technology “Is basically real-time data. Kids who are in beds, you aren’t taking them down hallways. You’re not taking them to different rooms. You’re getting real time data right there at the bedside.”

This year, donations are being tripled thanks to two Saskatchewan families. The Davide and Karen Holst Family Foundation pledged to match Radiothon donations up to $200,000. In the same spirit, after hearing about the Holst family, Dallas and Sandy Howe decided to double the total match this year, bringing it to $400,000.

 Davies says this is the first time the radiothon has seen a triple match.  

The Foundation says the children’s hospital sees 83,000 babies, children, and moms-to-be annually from across the province, which equates to about 227 patient visits every day.  

Those who would like to donate can either head to pattisonchildrens.ca or call 1-888-808-KIDS.