The Nicola Valley Health Centre has a host of new medical equipment, thanks to the dream of one Merritt couple who passed away in 2007.

The wishes of the late Doreen and Cor Polmans have come true and the Nicola Valley Health Centre now has some medical equipment that will allow patients to remain in Merritt to receive treatment for a variety of different procedures.

“This is a wonderful day both for the Health Centre and for Mrs. Heroux,” said Linda Lillie, Health Services Manager.

“This clinically-focused equipment will be a huge benefit to physicians and patients.”

The Health Centre now has a GlideScope, portable ultrasound unit, portable ventilator, a rhinolaryngoscope and an electrocautery unit; all thanks to Doreen and Cor, who have donated over $200,000 to the Nicola Valley Health Centre.

So far, the ultrasound unit has been in use and the rest of the equipment will mainly be used in the trauma unit.

“There was only one stipulation,” said Loretta Heroux, Doreen's sister, who is helping administer the Polmans estate and has worked with Royal Inland Hospital to carry out the wishes of her sister.

“It was never to be removed from here.”

The Polmans had requested that the medical equipment stay in Merritt permanently, rather than be transferred to other health care facilities, which sometimes happens in the industry.

The Polmans wanted to do something to help ensure the community would have access to medical equipment so that patients could receive as much medical treatment in Merritt as possible.

Some patients in the Nicola Valley are required to travel to major centres for medical and some must do so by ambulance, as not all of them drive or have vehicles.

Doreen, a longtime resident of Merritt, died of cancer on September 13, 2007.

“It's been a long road to get us here, but now it's all done, and it feels so good. It feels like I can go on with my life now,” said Heroux.

“It's like a great load has been lifted off my shoulders. I think Doreen would really be happy with how this has worked out.”
One third of the Polmans estate has gone to Cancer groups and another third to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.