As site chief of the Charles V. Keating Emergency and Trauma Centre at the QEII hospital, Dr. Sam Campbell has seen first hand the positive impact of the QEII Home Lottery.

“Money raised from the QEII lottery contributed substantially to us being able to open what’s essentially one of the best physical emergency departments in the world,” says Campbell.

The department, which opened in 2007, sees about 75,000 patients a year. It’s divided into five pods with different functions.

Dr. Campbell says the improved layout means significant benefits for patients.

“We’re able to get people who need the care the most to their care the quickest,” he says, “We’re also able to stream people which mean to anticipate what needs they’re going to have and not send them to an area where they’re going to be occupying resources that we need.”

QEII Hospital Foundation CEO Bill Bean says the Emergency and Trauma Centre is just one area of the hospital that benefits from the campaign.

“The lottery provides funding for equipment and research,” says Bean. “And education and some of the amenities that sometimes don’t get funded anymore.”

Bean says state of the art technology, such as magnetic resonance and digital imaging, reduces wait times and led to better diagnosis.

Even some of the seemingly small bedside comforts have been funded by the lottery,

“We buy blanket warmers and reclining chairs so family members can be beside their loved ones while they’re in hospital,” says Bean.

This year, part of the funds will go towards the new simulation-based learning centre that will provide hands on training opportunities for health care professionals.

“The first time they practice saving someone’s life, it’s not actually on a patient,” says Campbell. “They’ve been able to practice in a simulated environment.”

This year 77,000 tickets sold out 12 days early. But Bean says it’s about much more than just the prizes.

“We love when people win houses and bicycles and cars,” he says. “But really, it’s about what we do with that money which is most important because it changes people’s lives.”