Employment of respiratory therapists is projected to grow 23% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. There is currently a significant shortage of Respiratory Therapists throughout our hospitals. Our hospitals can strengthen the partnership with St. Pete College (SPC) to enhance enrollment. This request is to provide tuition reimbursement for up to 10 graduates while funding one clinical instructor with a focus exclusively on overseeing and coordinating oversight of Respiratory Therapist students.

The Giraffe Incubator Care Station is a state-of-the-art neonatal environment that promotes natural, peaceful healing while fostering family-centered care and bonding. Additionally, the health care team has improved access to the smallest patients, giving them a better chance at providing successful treatment while maintaining a stable thermal environment that is essential for neonatal healing. In addition, the Care Stations make it possible for parents to participate in the care of the infant, increasing bonding.

Thanks to grant funding from the Men's Giving Circle, Mease Countryside Hospital will now be able to upgrade its final cardiac catheterization lab with the Philips Azurion image guided therapy platform. This equipment allows clinicians to perform complex interventional procedures such as angioplasty, a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure that opens narrowed or blocked arteries that supply blood to the heart, more precisely. This technology produces real-time images that are projected on a 58-inch, HD screen with such clarity that it allows clinicians to navigate through the tiniest blood vessels with confidence.

Thanks to the support of members of the Men's Giving Circle, this neonatal transporter is being utilized at Mease Countryside Hospital to transport critical neonates from the main Emergency Department and Operating Rooms to the hospital’s Labor and Delivery Department and NICU. This upgraded piece of technology will allow for safer and more effective immediate stabilization of the preterm infant, which can ultimately lead to decreased length of stay and improved clinical outcomes.