The need to move low birth-weight babies from Rouge-Valley Ajax-Pickering Hospital has been an ongoing problem for several years now.

But the problem has been solved thanks to some timely help from Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan.

The Mayor's Gala, a fundraising bonanza which generates money for all manner of causes in the community, raised $130,000 this year bringing the four-year tally to $430,000. That's a lot of cash from generous people in the community who bid on auction items and contribute to help out their friends and neighbours.

In the last year Mayor Ryan was able to kick in $49,000 for a transport incubator for low birth-weight babies so they can be moved from RVAP to another facility. The local hospital has been without an incubator for the past couple of years and this donation certainly couldn't have come at a better time according to hospital staff.

"I think we were without a transport incubator for almost two years so were delighted to have this added to our team," said Susan Fyfe, Rouge Valley Health System program director for women's and children's programs.

At a time when provincial health budgets are stretched to the absolute limit and dollars are scarce, it's gratifying to see the mayor step up and provide help where it's needed. As Ms. Fyfe says, "It's an exciting opportunity for us and for the babies we have here."

The apparatus is critical for low-weight babies -- those under 34 weeks at time of birth who need to be transferred from one hospital to another. It provides an environment with a controlled temperature, humidity and oxygen concentration and has large door and portholes for access to the child.

This new piece of equipment will literally help save lives in years to come and is an ideal addition to the hospital's arsenal. And it has some personal meaning for Mayor Ryan as well. His newest grandchild was born at Rouge Valley Ajax-Pickering this past April.

"I now have a personal stake in this hospital," he said while on hand to present the new piece of equipment. And Mayor Ryan's fund will make RVAP a safer place for all future mothers and babies as well.