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On April 25, the Deep River and District Hospital Auxiliary provided a second $60,000 donation towards the purchase of a new nurse call system as well as their annual $10,000 donation to the Pre-School Speech Therapy program. Pictured here, from left to right, are DRDH CFO William Willard, Auxiliary President Eileen Burke, DRDH Manager of Clinical Services and Director of Care Allison Lepack, DRDH CEO Richard Bedard, and DRDH Board Chair Janet Gow.
The Deep River and District Hospital Auxiliary again provided remarkable financial support to our organization at their Annual General Meeting and Luncheon again this year. The Auxiliary made two donations - one for $60,000 which will be added to the $60,000 given last year to be put towards the purchase of a new nurse call system, and one for $10,000 which allows the Hospital to continue to offer the Pre-School Speech Therapy program to the children and families in our region. Since the Annual General Meeting last year, where donations were given for the nurse call system and speech program, an additional $6,000 was donated for the purchase of over-bed tables and an additional $13,000 was donated for the purchase of new mattresses for the Four Seasons Lodge.
Janet Gow, Board Chair for the Deep River and District Hospital, Four Seasons Lodge Long-Term Care, and North Renfrew Family Health Team, provided opening remarks at the event. Janet shared a poignant quote from Sherry Anderson that states, “volunteers don’t get paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless”. Richard Bedard, President and CEO, further acknowledged the intangible value that our team of Auxiliary volunteers provide in numerous areas across the organization, in addition to the tremendous financial support that they provide.
Added to the luncheon, silent auction, and regular meeting business, Auxiliary members in attendance also received a presentation from Allison Lepack and William Willard regarding the transformation of our Long-Term Care, and our application for expansion. Significant transformation of the Four Seasons Lodge is planned to move from a ‘medical model of care’ to one that has the Resident at the center of focus. These changes will take time to carry-out, and will involve a shift in culture for staff to embrace the idea that our Residents do not live in our workplace, but we work in their home. First steps in the transformation process include changes to the physical appearance of the entrance to make it more like a home, changes to the dining experience to meet individual Resident needs, and changes in the care delivery model to move from staff-centric patterns to those that are Resident-centric.
The need to strengthen senior’s services has been identified as a strategic goal for the organization, with the outcome to seek opportunities to support our aging population as it grows over the coming years. To this end, it was shared that the organization is pursuing an application to bring an additional 86 Long-Term Care beds to our community. It is hoped that Deep River will receive some of the 15,000 beds that the current government is looking to issue in order to meet the current and future needs of our senior population.
The organization would like to extend a sincere thank you to every member of the Auxiliary for their efforts in making a difference in the lives of others. Members of the Auxiliary volunteer at the Whistle Stop (located in the Community Centre downtown), the Hospital Gift Shop, evening nutrition, the Ontario Breast Screening Program, the palliative care program, and in the Four Seasons Lodge. Since 1974, the Auxiliary has contributed an astounding $1,462,468 and 366,531 volunteer hours.
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