Giving back to the community UA members helped build
United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of Canada and the United States Local 170 have helped purchase vital medical equipment to advance local health care at Richmond Hospital.
“Our members helped build the hospitals that their families here are using,” says Joe Shayler, Business Manager and Financial Secretary, UA Local 170. “our donation to Richmond Hospital Foundation is our way of giving back and saying thanks.”
Funds from UA Local 170 have helped purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment for Richmond Hospital’s Pulmonary Function Lab. A new “breathing box” will help diagnose and assess lung disease, a serious and growing illness.
Richmond Hospital’s Pulmonary Function Laboratory performs complete evaluations of a patient’s respiratory system through a host of on-site diagnostic tools. According to the World Health Organization, lung disease is the fourth most common cause of death worldwide and is estimated soon to become the third most common.
“Health care is essential, and we have a rapidly growing and aging population. With state-of-the-art medical equipment, you’re able to provide patients with the very best locally,” says Shayler. “I’ve been tremendously impressed with Richmond Hospital. Our contribution is really about saying thank you for the excellent and skilled care they deliver.”
“Our union is committed to public health and safety,” says Shayler, whose union represents members in the high-demand piping trades which include plumbing, sprinklerfitting, steamfitting and welding. “Just like our own industry, a hospital needs a skilled workforce. We recognize you have to have properly trained individuals using the right equipment to support the highest standards.
“Our members have worked on the majority of hospital, college and university construction projects in British Columbia. In fact, they worked on the same hospitals they now use. This is about our commitment to the health and safety of the communities we serve, and we feel that money derived from the community should stay in the community,” says Shayler. “It’s about giving back to the community we helped build.”