Gundersen Boscobel Foundation's impact on new technology: AccuVein Vein Finder

The AccuVein actually "lights up" the veins using infrared technology.

New technologies in healthcare are expensive, and having a strong and healthy foundation to help sponsor some of these investments is an asset to any institution. Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics has benefited from many recent Foundation purchases, including one called the AccuVein Vein Finder.

The AccuVein Vein Finder is a handheld, non-contact vein illumination device.  It actually "lights up" the veins using infrared technology. It is used with patients who are difficult IV starts and difficult lab draws due to such factors as age, weight, skintone, dehydration or previous vein usage.

The AccuVein request was presented to the Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics (BAHC) Foundation, and is now a reality in Boscobel. Although it is housed in the ER, the unit can be shared and utilized by other departments as well. In fact, it has the potential of being used multiple times every day by multiple departments. 

In her appeal to the Foundation, Wendi Stitzer, Director of Emergency Services, indicated, "This is new technology for us. We have many patients who have to endure multiple needle sticks in order to obtain their blood or start IV fluids.  This device helps alleviate this issue and minimize the number of times a patient needs to be poked, which helps us improve patient satisfaction."

Purchase of the AccuVein was requested during the capital planning process two prior years, but the purchase had been delayed due to other more immediate needs. The Foundation's generosity helped move up this timeline. 

"It truly is an invaluable resource," Wendi reports, "and being able to improve patient care is at the forefront of the Gundersen Boscobel core values."

This is just one example where the impact of the BAHC Foundation is having a positive effect on the quality of care we are able to provide at Gundersen Boscobel on a daily basis, one which highlights the way in which donations—large and small—can increase the availability of technology, thus improving the quality of care provided.