Donation to Mission Memorial Hospital to improve inclusive patient care
Published 5:30 am Saturday, December 27, 2025
A donation to Mission Memorial Hospital will help improve inclusive patient care.
According to a news release from the Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation, Mission Community Foundation funded a set of bariatric parallel bars for Mission Memorial Hospital.
MMH Physiotherapist Margaret Levett said the new piece of equipment will significantly enhance the hospital’s ability to deliver inclusive patient care.
“Our increasing bariatric population were not able to access the parallel bars (a basic physiotherapy equipment) for initiating weight bearing and potentially progressing on to safe walking. The reason was that traditional parallel bars would only open and extend to accommodate wheelchairs that are 20 inches wide. Bariatric patients, however, often use wheelchairs that are 22-26 inches wide and would not often be given the opportunity to weight bear and therefore sent home at a lower functioning level, perhaps bed care and a lift for getting in and out of bed,” Levett said.
“This situation not only impacts patients but also increases the risk of injuries to the care providers. When a patient is able to do more for themselves, they have better recovery and achieve a higher level of independence. Weight bearing is a critical component for activating the feedback loop in the brain that supports walking and being denied this sets them up for a lifetime of dependence on lifts.”
Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation executive director Liz Harris thanked Mission Community Foundation for ensuring that patients of all sizes will be able to stand and weight-bear earlier.
The Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation is dedicated to advancing health care for the communities of Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, and Hope, raising funds to ensure local hospitals have the equipment and resources they need to deliver the highest level of care.