On June 8, the Sinai Radiothon took place in the lobby of Mount Sinai Hospital, part of Sinai Health System. The fundraiser, now in its second year, is a partnership between Sinai Health System and Fairchild Radio, a Chinese Canadian radio station. From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., listeners tuned in to hear heartfelt stories in Cantonese and Mandarin from the patients and staff across Sinai Health System. Throughout the day, members of the community were encouraged to donate online, over the phone, or in person. This year, Sinai Radiothon raised more than $120,000 to help provide connected care for patients with the greatest health needs.
“It was a pleasure to participate in this year’s Radiothon and to share more compelling stories from the patients and staff at Sinai Health System,” said Dr. Gary Newton, President and CEO, Sinai Health System. “Funds from Sinai Radiothon help us provide the best care for our patients and we are grateful for the incredible support we received once again from the Chinese community.”
The radiothon featured interviews from doctors, nurses and researchers from across Sinai Health System’s four campuses (Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Circle of Care, the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and Mount Sinai Hospital). Some of the highlights of the day included an interview with Olivia Chow, former thyroid cancer patient at Mount Sinai, and live acupuncture performed by Dr. Adam Chen. Several grateful patients, like Meng Yi Zhang, also shared their inspirational stories to help raise critical funds for Sinai Health System.
Shortly after arriving to Canada, Meng suddenly had a stroke and was rushed to emergency, where he stayed for ten days. He was then transferred to Bridgepoint for his recovery.
The stroke caused Meng to lose mobility on his left side, including his hand and leg. At Bridgepoint, Meng received both physiotherapy and occupational therapy and also saw a speech pathologist. In addition, he was assigned to a social worker.
Because of the language barrier, Meng’s social worker and his interpreter were incredibly helpful throughout his stay at Bridgepoint. Meng’s occupational therapist also spoke Mandarin, which was comforting for Meng. He is thankful for all the staff at Bridgepoint who helped with his nearly three months of rehabilitation and recovery.
“Sinai Health System is committed to health equity and to providing exceptional care that is accessible to all members of the community,” said Daisy Tse, Advancement Director, Sinai Health Foundation. “We’ve had a long history of serving the Chinese community, as Mount Sinai Hospital was one of the first hospitals in Toronto to accept Chinese patients and families, and provide unique services to this population.”
We are very grateful to the Chinese community for their support of our second Sinai Radiothon, as well as the staff and patients who helped make this event so successful and inspiring.