The Bermuda Hospitals Board announced on Tuesday it has received almost $1 million in donations from the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda in 2005.

The HAB is a registered charity that raises funds and provides volunteer services for the hospitals.

Funds were raised through the HAB?s four businesses: The Barn, The Pink Caf?, the gift shop and hospitality cart. The HAB is the hospitals? single largest donor, donating $981,765 this past year alone.

Hospital CEO Joan Dillas-Wright said: ?We?re grateful to the HAB for its incredible support, which will help our patients and staff in very meaningful ways.?

The HAB?s donations have been used for significant improvements at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute this past year. The funds were used to purchase items, including:

Telemetry in the Intensive Care Unit. This is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest. Telemetry is used for patients who are at risk of abnormal heart activity.

A pure water plant for the dialysis unit. Pure water is crucial to hemodialysis.

Four defribillators for the emergency room.

A stress treadmill for the Cardiac Care Unit.

Two colonscopes for the operating room. A colonscope is an instrument used to check the lining of the colon.

A bariatric bed for the medical wards, which is designed for obese individuals.

Two bed modules for the Intensive Care Unit.

Blood pressure monitors at KEMH and MWI.

A mass casualty vehicle equipped with supplies and equipment to treat three categories of victims: critical, urgent and non-urgent. This will allow staff to stabilise victims in most casualty situations until they reach the hospital.

Each year, the HAB donates more than 40,000 hours of service to the BHB. It has contributed millions of dollars in support of the hospitals since its inception in 1953.