January 2015 - Alabama Hospital Association

ALABAMA
COUNCIL OF
HOSPITAL
AUXILIARIES
The Communicator
VOLUME 27
ISSUE 1
JANUARY, 2015
It is hard
to believe
another year is almost gone! When you read this Christmas will
be over and we will be ge"ng ready for a New Year. We have new
members on the ACHA board this year. They are Wanda Berry,
District I Vice Chairman; Marty Staggs, District II Vice Chairman;
Hope Hundley, Program Chairman; Charles & Joyce Purple, Historian; Yvonne
McElderry, Newsle#er Chairman. I am looking forward to working with each of them
along with the rest of the ACHA Board.
Beverly Commander, ACHA Chairman
Inside This
Issue
Chairmen
2—7
District 1
8-10
District 2
10-17
District 3
18-24
District 4
24-29
2014 Fall Conference Award Winners
30-32
Fall Conference
Pictures
33
FYI
34
Happy
New Year!
Our Fall Conference in Mobile this last year, 2014, was a great success! If you missed
it please put November 1-4 on your calendar for next year, we will be in Birmingham.
Don Pugh did an outstanding job of putting our program together. Thank you Don!
Sarajane Pugh, Shirley Brocato, Faye Burns and Elinor Ott were on the Program Committee, they did a great job assisting Don with the conference. A big thank you goes to
Teresa Stubblefield of the Alabama Hospital Association who kept everything running
smoothly and to Carol Hunter for picking up the pieces and being a great leader until I
arrived on Tuesday.
We had several people go off the ACHA Board this last year; I would like to thank
them for their leadership and service these last two years. Billie Simpson, Past State
Chairman will be greatly missed this next year. A huge thank you goes to Billie for her
leadership, friendship, and willingness to help make the ACHA Board a success.
Eunice Stagner, District II Chairman; Elinor Ott, District IV Chairman; Don Pugh,
Program Chairman; Johnnie Knott, Gift Shop Chairman.
We have all been through many changes this last year with our hospitals redefining the
“H”. Thank you for being willing to except these changes and help in new areas of our
hospitals. Your Auxiliary is an integral and important part of the Hospital and staff.
Please remember when someone enters the hospital the auxiliary member is usually the
first person they see when they come in and the last person they see as they leave.
Your tone of voice, facial expression and kindness will be what they remember.
If I can help your Auxiliary in anyway this next year please call or email me. [email protected] 256-276-0839. I am looking forward to working with you.
Blessings to each of you this next year,
Beverly Commander
ACHA State Chairman
PAGE 2
ACHA Board Chairmen
Carol Hunter, Chairman-Elect
Happy New Year !
Reflecting on 2014, I believe it was a happy year for Auxiliaries in the
state of Alabama ! The evidence of success of ACHA members was clearly
demonstrated during the Fall Conference held in Mobile in October. Conference attendees shared ideas while participating in outstanding programming and strengthened friendships by enjoying time together.
As Chairman-Elect, I extend a special welcome to our new Board members : Wanda Berry,
Marty Staggs, Joyce and Charles Purple, and Yvonne McElderry. As we get to know and understand one another, we will work together to effectively lead the ACHA.
The Board members serve as the connection between the American Hospital Association
and Alabama Hospital Auxiliaries. We are committed to providing information that enables
auxiliaries to help improve healthcare across Alabama.
Faye Burns, Project Chairman
Cold and Flu medications can increase
blood pressure. If you’re ringing in the holidays with a cold or the flu, you
should know that over-the-counter drugs taken to control the symptoms can
also raise blood pressure and strain the kidneys.
The culprits? Pseudoephedrine and other cold medicine ingredients that
may increase blood pressure.
The flu can have serious health risks for people with high blood pressure, and patients with
cardiovascular disease are more likely to die from influenza than patients with any other
chronic condition, according to the American Heart Association. While controlling the symptoms is important, so is knowing the potential side effects. Always contact your Doctor or discuss with your Pharmacist before taking any over the counter drugs for a cold or the flu.
Information from The American Heart Association blog.heart.org
Fay Burns, ACHA Project Chair
[email protected]
334-559-4010
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
ACHA Chairmen (cont.)
PAGE 3
Linda Patterson, Past Historian
2013-2014
I wanted to close out my tenure as
Historian, by thanking all of you that
submitted entries for Newsletters, Yearbooks, Tray Favors and Special Programs at the Fall Conference in Mobile. I think that we had a good turnout of
entries, but would love to see more next year.
VOLUME
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I also want to give you a very brief summary of some of the Judge’s comments as I think
that it will help you for next year. I will be giving a more detailed report to the District Chairs
at our meeting in January in Montgomery and will ask that they get a copy to all our local
Presidents.
Newsletter –
“I thought there should be more upcoming events listed. If there were a calendar, this would
get a perfect score”.
“The layout is fantastic. Great use of photos and big text headlines.”
“Needs more photos and less clipart. Spacing was off in some editions.”
“It looks boring. I thought I was looking at financial information”.
Yearbooks –
“The yearbook was very well thought out”.
“Very informative”. “An interesting summary”.
“There were a number of things that might have been done in a more effective manner”.
“Enjoyed observing the approach used to document the year”.
Tray Favors –
“Good use of combining store bought and handmade effort”.
“Handmade tray favors offer that special touch.”
“Good use of display board”
“Display not bad but could use a little TLC”.
Special Program –
“The Documentation of Special Program sheet explaining the program with photos or
graphics would have been a help in telling the story”.
“The feedback of staff and patients show how successful the program has been”.
“Photo and graphics would more effectively display the project results”.
“The scholarship program from a small hospital seems a great way to pay forward the spirit of
giving”.
Again, I enjoyed my year as Historian/Awards Chair and thank you for all you did to make my
year so special.
Joyce & Charles Purple, Historian
We want to hear from you!
PAGE 4
ACHA Board Chairmen (cont.)
Shirley Brocato, Gift Shop
Gifts shops are very busy starting at the end of September when many have tailgate parties. Tailgate sales are popular and very profitable.
Then we move on to Christmas Open House and the season begins. Hospital
gift shops started out as candy, gum and so forth, but are now more like boutiques.
Most gift shops now carry clothes (jackets, tops, pants). Handbags, scarves and
gloves are very popular.
Be careful with seasonal items, sometimes you lose your profit with markdown. Hope everyone has a busy Christmas season.
I will start visiting gift shops in January.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!
Hope Hundley, Program Chairman
We want to hear from you!
Yvonne Estell McElderry, Newsletter Chairman
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The holidays are behind us and we are full speed into the new year. I hope everyone
had a happy holiday and are back to reality...the real world...the working world… the
life of volunteering.
Thanks for all the wonderful articles and pictures you have been sending in to me. I
have really enjoyed reading them and TRYING to put everything together. If you didn’t
get your article in to me for this publication, I put you a little reminder to be sure we get
it in next time. We want to hear from all our auxiliaries.
With your continued help, I hope I will be able to maintain the high standard of excellence with which our previous newsletter chairmen have published our Communicator.
If I misspelled a name, placed a picture under the wrong article or even failed to include
an article, PLEASE charge it to my head and not my heart. I promise to always strive to
do my very best to make our newsletter, “The Communicator” the best in the whole US
of A. I am waiting for ideas, suggestions, corrections...Just let me hear from you. I need
you to critique me.
Special thanks goes out to Sarajane and Don, Betty, Johnny and Beverly, to name a
few. Thanks to all of you.
Be sure and look out for FYI.
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
ACHA Chairmen (cont.)
Board Chairmen 2015-2016
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Past Board Chairmen 2014-2015
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
ACHA Board Chairmen 2015-16
Beverly Commander
Chairman
(256) 276-0839
[email protected]
Carol Hunter
Chairman-Elect
(205) 879-2015
[email protected]
Vacant
Past Chairman
Joyce & Charles Purple
Historian
(256) 539-7296
[email protected]
Yvonne Mcelderry
Newsletter Chairman
256-362-2232
[email protected]
Shirley Brocato
Gift Shop Chairman
(256) 381-0964
[email protected]
Hope Hundley
Program Chairman
(205) 641-0217
[email protected]
Fay Burns
Project Chairman
(334) 821-0577
[email protected]
Belinda Baggett
DVS Liaison
Betty Hendrix
District I Chairman
(256) 586-6394
[email protected]
Wanda Perry
District I Vice Chairman
(256) 383-4172
[email protected]
Sarajane Pugh
District II Chairman
(205) 242-3667
[email protected]
Marty Stagg
District II Vice Chairman (205) 622-3841
[email protected]
Flo Mcintyre
District III Chairman
[email protected]
Cheryl Webb
District III Vice Chairman (256) 846-5007
[email protected]
Constance Taylor
District IV Chairman
[email protected]
Linda Patterson
District IV Vice Chairman (251) 634-1278
Teresa Stubblefield
ACHA State Office
[email protected]
(256) 234-4462
(251) 456-5951
(334) 272-8781
(800) 489-2542
[email protected]
[email protected]
ACHA Board Chairmen (cont.)
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!
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PAGE 7
Page 8
DISTRICT 1
This is my first report as District I Chair and I am looking
forward to working with all the auxiliaries in District I for the
next two years. The fall conference in Mobile was great and very informative. I know I was
motivated to do a better job and I hope all of you were, too.
Betty Hendrix, Chairman
Since the conference, I have been working with Shirley Brocato, former District I Chairman, to gather information as to my new duties. One of the first duties is to arrange for the
quarterly meeting places and dates for 2015. Our first District I1 meeting of ‘15 will be at
Highlands Medical Center in Scottsboro on January 27. Everyone has been so cooperative
and several have volunteered to host these meetings. When everything is finalized, the information will be sent to the local Presidents and/or DVS’s.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
[email protected]
Crestwood Hospital
Crestwood Medical Center volunteers have been participating in
several exciting events around the hospital. In October, they toured the new Emergency
Room additions which will hopefully allow much faster in-and-out for patients.
A new concept in joint replacement surgery has been introduced at CMC. Joint Journey is a
comprehensive program based on a national best practice model for hip and knee replacements. It includes both pre-op and post-op education, group physical therapy, and is structured around the fundamental principle of wellness. A Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting
ceremony were held on October 30 on Third East Orthopedic Floor, with local dignitaries as
well as graduates of the program in attendance. Volunteers assisted with the program by escorting guests.
Our quarterly meeting was held on November 10.. RN Nancy Hequembourg gave a
presentation on knee and hip replacement and arthritis causes, relief and treatments. Volunteer
Director Melanie Manson conducted a training session on Code of Conduct Compliance.
On the social side, volunteers continue to hold frequent Bingo gatherings and have a Pot
Luck lunch and gift exchange planned for December 9.
CMC volunteers are proud t be part of a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures awarded by
the Join Commission, the nation’s leading accreditor of health care organizations. CONGRATULATIONS, Crestwood.
The entire group wishes all fellow volunteers a happy, safe and blessed holidays!
VOLLUME 27 ISSUE 1
DISTRICT 1
PAGE 9
Records funds were raised for Liz Hurley Breast Cancer Fund at the 11th annual Ribbon Run sponsored by the Huntsville Hospital Foundation. The event
was an amazing success with more than 6,500 participants lacing up their shoes to join in the fight against
breast cancer. The Main Gift Shop hosted a sale of pink merchandise for runners and family members. Many
found meaningful gifts with encouraging messages that offer hope and encouragement to those facing breast
cancer.
Huntsville Hospital
The Auxiliary provided funds for the purchase of a cart to be used on the Behavioral Health Unit. Members of the Auxiliary filled the cart with personal donations which included: markers, puzzle books, jig saw
puzzles, cards, adult coloring books and board games...to name a few. Best of all, Auxilian, Bob Barker is
volunteering his time to serve on the unit and use these supplies to entertain patients. Staff has reported his
visits have reduced the anxiety and depression that many of these patients are experiencing. WOW...a man
filled with love and compassion for others combined with gifts from
Auxilians and a small financial investment has proven to make a
BIG impact on the lives of others.
Marshall North
Since the fall conference we have been busy with our regular fall activities, as well as
preparing he holidays. Several of our members have been ill, some have moved away from this area, and others have retired or gone on inactive service. On December 4, we had a short auxiliary meeting and then enjoyed our annual Christmas Luncheon. Attendance was great, decorations were beautiful, and the catered
meal from Marshall North was delicious! Each auxiliary member received a gift bag of Georgia pecans from
Diane Butler, our DVS, and a goody bag from Anita Ryan, one of our members who has been ill but still
spoiled us with her usual generosity.
We participated, for the first time, in the Festival of Trees at the Guntersville Museum, an annual event featuring a display of trees each decorated according to a chosen theme. Our tree was decorated by our Craft Committee who used samples of all the unique tray favors from this past year. It was so beautiful and we received
many compliments on it! No wonder the patients love these tray favors!
PAGE 10
Helping Hands
2014.
DISTRICT I (cont.)
The Helping Hands Association hosted 3 events in the last quarter of
Shoals Hospital hosted a Masquerade Jewelry sale October 27 - 28 with sales totaling
$4,880 and a bake sale on November 25 with $300 in total sales.
ECM Hospital Volunteer Manager Roberta McKinney, has been busy speaking to various
organizations for volunteer recruitment this quarter.
The auxiliary donated non-revenue producing items to various departments at ECM and
Shoals hospitals. A donation also was made to a local non-profit organization, Hospice of the
Shoals.
Shoals Hospital welcomed Santa Claus on Tuesday, December 2, at the Shoals Hospital
open House for employees, volunteers, providers, and their families. The festive event was a
big success with children young and old enjoying “Jolly Ole Saint Nick”, great food, a lighting
of our Christmas tree on the front lawn, and lots of Christmas
Kylie Taylor, age 6, her sister Kaylee, age 4,
and brother Kaeden, age 3, visit with Santa at Shoals Hospital Open House.
Helping Hands volunteers/board members, Joan Tucker, left,
and Jean Banks, right, enjoy Santa at Shoals Christmas Open House.
Oct.—December 2014 - 2 new volunteers were added and 8 were taken off membership.
Total Helping Hands auxiliary members - 186.
Total Volunteer Hours worked the fourth quarter of 2014 were 7,404.
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
DISTRICT II
Page 11
Sarajane Pugh, Chairman
As 2014 comes to a rapid close, I want to reflect upon District II for the past
year before setting some goals for 2015.
First, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Eunice Stagner for her great leadership of our district for the last two years. She was always very organized and
prompt to remind us all of what we needed to do, when things were due and to arrange for fantastic meetings at the various hospital auxiliaries across our district.
It was very enjoyable to visit and see some of the hospitals and the hospitality of
each auxiliary was tremendous.
Also, I want to thank each of the auxiliaries for sharing and participating every
day and every month. Each of the members of your auxiliaries should be congratulated for the many hours of service they provide to the patients, staff, hospitals
and to their communities.
ACHA would not be successful without each of you!
For 2015, I hope to continue to build upon the “Solid Foundation” which
Eunice and others have laid. We need to continue to recruit new volunteers and
work with them to provide for a bright future of our auxiliaries. This past year’s
theme at the fall conference was “Leadership” and hopefully we were able to assist each of you by providing some new ideas to bring back to your hospitals and
implement in your organizations. Any time I can help your local auxiliary, please
contact me.
Finally, as your representative along with Mary Staggs, District II Vice Chairman, I will be attending the various ACHA meetings in Montgomery and WE
WANT your ideas and input in order to take YOUR ideas to the Board. Your auxiliaries may have ideas for changes or new ways of doing things that need to be
shared across the state, so let us hear from you. We look forward to seeing you at
the first District II meeting on February 4th at Children’s of Alabama Hospital in
Birmingham. See you there!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Page 12
DISTRICT I I (cont.)
UAB Hospital
Greetings from UAB Hospital Auxiliary!
UAB Auxiliary members were busy throughout the fall and on into the holiday season.
Shortly after returning from the ACHA Conference, we readied ourselves for our annual Fall Seminar and
luncheon. This year’s program featured Dr. Helen Krontiras, Professor of Surgery, Medical Director of UAB
Breast Health Center, Co-Director of Norma Livingston and Lynne Cohen Preventative Care Program for
Women’s Cancers at UAB and Cancer Liaison Physician of the UAB Health System. Dr. Krontiras provided
an informative Breast Cancer Update.
In November, the hospital began to sparkle with holiday decorations and auxiliary efforts focused on activities
and needs specific to the season. The hospital Christmas tree, a gift from UAB Auxiliary, adorned the North
Pavilion Atrium
Our annual Pecan and Candy Sale got underway and we hosted a pecan-themed Bake sale.
Three of our members continued a tradition of hosting a meal on Thanksgiving Day for families of ICU patients. By partnering with the hospital’s Department of Food and Nutrition, these holiday “elves” provide a meal of sandwiches, chips, drinks and cookies to folks otherwise stranded at a time when restaurants are closed and food is scarce. They provide meals at Christmas and Easter
as well!
In December, UAB hospital hosted the much-anticipated annual Holiday
Coffee for the volunteers. Volunteers, hospital staff and administrators enjoyed
the festive surroundings, delicious treats and the opportunity to socialize.
Wishing all a beautiful and productive New Year! Kyle Wick
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
Bibb Medical Center
DISTRICT II
Page 13
The Auxiliary at Bibb Medical Center have been extra busy preparing for their annual Tree of Lights-which is to be held on Saturday,
December 13th...This gives the community the chance to place a strand
of lights on the tree for a donation of $5.00. This donation is done in
memory or in honor of their loved one. This year’s tree is dedicated in
memory of 2 Auxiliary members who passed away this year, Mr. Avery
Nichols and Mrs. Ann Williams. Mr. Nichols was also a resident at
BMCNH and Mrs. Williams was the treasurer for the Auxiliary.
Residents News: They are looking forward to a special Christmas luncheon on Tuesday, December 9th and a special visit from Santa Claus on
December 15th.
Hope you will enjoy photos from last years visit from Santa. Cathy Frith-President
St. Vincent’s St. Clair
Our auxiliary sent 4 members to the conference in Mobile and we thoroughly enjoyed attending and appreciate Don and everyone else for all their
hard work.
Our card party that was held in September was successful and everyone stated they were looking forward to
next year. We netted $1,720.00 which will go toward our scholarship for 2015.
We had a yard sale in November which is a lot of hard work, but successful. It takes 2 days of setting up
and then the sale is for 2 days. We all had a good time working this and netted $1,302.90 toward our scholarships. In November we also had a Scented Candle sale with other products available. There was not any work
done by the Auxiliary. The company’s representative sat everything up. We netted $71.60 from this sale. We
had our largest jewelry sale ever and raised $5,369.00.
Peggy Crosswell retired after 35 years and 11,500 hours of volunteer service. She will be missed. She was
presented a cake and flowers at the general meeting. We wish Peggy a happy and well deserved retirement.
Others receiving pins for their service was Karen Dawson—1,000 hours, Charlene Eason—15 years, Dorothy
Hill– 2,000 hours, Frances Matukas-1,000 hours, Ruby Stasko-500 hours and Edith Woddard-500 hours.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!
Edna Daffron, President
PAGE 14
DISTRICT II (cont.)
Brookwood Medical Center
This fall has been as busy as nay other for the Brookwood
Medial Auxiliary. Fall holds sales to fund our many hospital and community service projects,
our annual Reorientation, and special activities for the many holidays-all against the backdrop
of our regular day-to-day duties. However, this fall marks the end of the current Board’s two
year term and the formation of a new Board.
Janis Cole, outgoing President, appointed a nominating committee in September to develop
a proposed slate of officers for the 2015-2016 term. The slate was presented to the whole
Auxiliary at the annual Reorientation, and the floor was opened for additional nominations.
Attendees offered no additional nominations and the Auxiliary voted their approval of the proposed slate.
The newly elected officers will be installed at the Annual Christmas Luncheon in December, and these include Barbara Pemberton (President), Susan Alshouse (Vice President), Sally
Smith (Vice President), Kathy Finch (Secretary) and Martha Hester (Treasurer).
A poignant photo was captured at the Reorientation. This photograph captures the wonderful legacy of previous Boards even as it looks forward to the good things to come. We welcome the new officers and the Board that will support them!
Seated is Barbara Pemberton (right) along with a Past President, Dee Triantos (left).
Princeton BMC
Hello and Happy Holidays to everyone! The last part of August we
held our Uniform Sale and as always it was a great success. On the 15th of September all of
the volunteers completed our Annual Education Updates. It’s always good to keep up with all
the changes in the hospital.
We held Orientation in September where we gained 1 adult volunteer and 1 college volunteer. On November 5 & 6 we held our first Dillard’s Department Store sale. This was a huge
success. All the employees loved all the different items to choose from in one setting. As December roles around we have already held an art’s & Craft/Bake Sale with about 38 craft vendors from around our community and the Auxiliary sold baked goods. This is always fun and
enjoyed by all. The Auxiliary already has prepared 40 adopted Angels for the Salvation Army
Tree Project. Submitted by Barbara McDonald, Auxiliary President
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
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District II (cont)
Page 15
DCH Medical Center
It has been a busy fall for our auxiliary at DCH Regional Medical
Center. In October we had eight of our auxiliary members and Pam Kirkley, DCH Volunteer
Coordinator attend the ACHA Fall Conference in Mobile. It was a great conference and we
would like to thank our very own Don Pugh who was the Program Chairman for all his hard
work in helping to put together such an informative, educational and enjoyable event. We
would also like to thank Dr Gary Harrelson, Denise Stricklin and Xan Fields from the DCH
Health System Department of Organizational Development and Education (ODE) that presented an excellent one day Leadership workshop at the conference. In addition we had the honor
of bringing home the 1st Place ribbon for Yearbook and 3rd Place for Newsletter!! Also in October we had the installation of our new officers for 2014-15. They are: Kristie Scott, President; Tom Hunter, Vice President of Membership; Terri Scott, Vice President of Projects ;
Margaret Crowell, Secretary-and Linda Southern, Treasurer.
On November 20 the hospital hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner for the volunteers held in the Willard Auditorium and on December 10 they hosted a beautiful Holiday
Luncheon for us at the Cypress Inn Restaurant Pavilion. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the fellowship and Fantastic Food!!
As the new president here at the DCH RMC I just wanted to say that I am looking forward to
working with you all this upcoming year and I hope that you all had a happy Holiday Season!
Kristie Scott, President
Pickens
Pickens County
County Medical
Medical Center
Center
We have had two very successful fundraisers this fall.
Britches and Bows Sale in August provided us with children’s clothing and added ladies clothing as well. Our Masquerade Jewelry Sale in November was the best sale in our history.
A member of our auxiliary provided Halloween goodies for the patients and they were delivered on Halloween by two volunteers. Tray favors were delivered for the patient trays on
Thanksgiving Day.
Christmas Open House for our Gift Shop was held in our hospital lobby on December 2.
We have made several purchases and donations for specific departments within the Hospital. We are currently providing funds for Marketing to advertise services provided by the
Medical Center. We have also purchased advertising merchandise for gift bags that are delivered to our patients by our Interim Administration.
Our Auxiliary project for 2015 is to deliver hand-sewn cotton dolls and hand-sewn monkey
socks to our Senior Care, Geriatric-Psychiatric patients.
Barbara Lancaster, President
PAGE 16
DISTRICT II (cont.)
Trinity Medical Center
The Auxiliary’s annual contribution of $4,000 to Trinity’s United Way campaign was donated. Red Cross blood drives were held September 18th and November 25th where volunteers
assisted with registering potential donors. Marilyn Dickson, an 18 year volunteer who recently resigned, was honored with a Certificate of Appreciation for her many years of dedicated
service.
On October 2nd and 3rd, the Ultimate Linen Sale was held and was a great success. The
ACHA Fall Conference was held in Mobile on October 12-15 and was attended by four officers, Cathy Maddock, Marcia Warren, Sandra Whalen, and Jerry Pontibriand. It was a terrific
conference. Congratulations to the state officers for a job well done.
The Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled meeting in November and approved a request to purchase two motorized infant swings at $250. each for the NICU. In addition, a request to purchase acrylic Christmas angel ornaments was approved and volunteers will mail
them to the families in honor of deceased patients from Trinity’s Cancer Center. Everyone was
reminded of the annual drive to collect small toys and cloth bags for one of Trinity’s physicians and his team to distribute to the children and ladies in Africa while on their medical mission trip in January. Additionally, funds were distributed for the purchase of medications for
the team to administer during the trip.
Just prior to the Christmas holidays, the $5,00 masquerade Jewelry sale was held on December 4th and 5th. Patients in the hospital have requested a recorded copy of the beautiful
harp music played by the Volunteer Cyd Dudgeon and authorization was given to purchase
materials to produce CD’s for those who request it. Plans are being made for the Volunteer
Christmas luncheon scheduled for December 16th.
Cathy Maddock, President
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
St. Vincent's East
District II (cont.)
PAGE 17
As is typical this time of year, blessing and busyness go hand in hand.
October began with our Auxiliary Board attending the ACHA Confer-
ence in Mobile. Kudos to Don Pugh for organizing a conference that was enlightening as well
as entertaining. We all came away with a renewed sense of purpose to share with our fellow
Auxilians. AND...we also came away with such pride in our own Janice Gillespi, who was
awarded the “AHA Volunteer of the Year” Award.
Shortly following our return from Mobile, our Auxiliary was proud to donate car-loads of
non-perishable food items to a local food ministry—Trussville Ecumenical Assistive Ministries
(TEAM). This is a new outreach ministry for our Auxiliary, allowing us to reach out to needy
individuals in our service area.
November brought the SVE Auxiliary more blessing and busyness with three successful
fundraisers—our annual uniform sale, the Fall Masquerade Jewelry Sale, and our annual used
book and bake sale—three great opportunities to fellowship with one another as we raised needed funds that will allow us to assist our hospital as needs arise. On November 12, 13, and 14,
two of our Flower Shop Auxilians, Dee Dodd and Brenda Kay Anderson donned their camping
ensembles and, with craft supplies in hand, headed for Camp Bluebird, an annual camping experience for Cancer patients and survivors sponsored by St. Vincent’s East Cancer Treatment
Center. Dee and Brenda Kay guided the campers in making wonderful memories of camp as
well as in making a decorative scarecrow hat to display in their homes each fall.
Now December is here and Christmas is upon us. Once again, we here a St. Vincent’s East
find ourselves thankful for the blessing and busyness of serving others through volunteering. As
we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we wish all of you find that same joy. From our auxiliary
to yours, Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Randy Cowser
St. Vincent’s East Auxiliary
PASGE 18
DISTRICT II (cont.)
18
Shelby Baptist
Wow! I donʼt know how Christmas got here so fast but it is just a few days away.
I hope all of you have had a great fall as we have had at Shelby Baptist...busy but great!
Our annual Uniform Sale for hospital employees was very successful. Employees look
forward to this sale and so does our auxiliary since we both benefit. November has
been particularly busy with our $5 Masquerade Sale, purchasing furniture for the Senior
Care Unit, decorating for Christmas, and overseeing our annual Bake and Craft Sale in
December.
Our Special Project was purchasing outdoor furniture for the patio for the Senior Care
Unit. This allows those patients that arenʼt really sick, but are in need of special care, a
place for them to be outdoors in a secure area. They have been delighted with their
“own little place” to enjoy the sunshine.
December is always busy with festivities at the hospital as well as in our own lives. We
started the month with what has become an annual Bake and Craft Sale. Our auxiliary
members bake items to be sold to anyone that comes by...could be patients families,
friends of auxiliary members or hospital employees. We added crafts from area vendors
the past two years and this has proven to be a “keeper” for our auxiliary.
As the year comes to a close take time to remember those that wonʼt be able to
celebrate with friends and families due to illnesses, injuries, etc. May I wish all of you a
blessed Christmas and peace in the New Year.
Flo McIntyre, Chairman
DISTRICT III
Last Quarter my Service was short, due to health problems. I worked our annual Jewelry
sale. Baked cakes and help with our Bake sale. I attended our December meeting. Our Auxiliary has three new people in scholarship and received news that one of our last recipients had
graduated and has already found work. Great news. We also had hand made Christmas stockings for all newborn in December, large enough to carry the baby home in. Out auxiliary
treated the maintenance workers during November and December each week with special
hand made goodies.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
DISTRICT III (cont.)
PAGE 19
Vaughan Regional
Vaughan Regional Medical Center Auxiliary has had a very busy
fourth quarter. We are very excited to announce the addition of seven new volunteers! Most
of these newbies attended the yearly orientation held on October 20, 2014.
We had six volunteers attend the Fall Conference in Mobile. Vaughan placed 2nd in the
tray favor category. We would like to give a big thanks to Billie Rogers and all of the hard
work she put in to making such awesome favors for our patients.
The uniform sale held in October was a
huge success as was the jewelry sale held in
November. The proceeds from these sales
will go toward the 2015 scholarships.
All of the Vaughan volunteers enjoyed a
Thanksgiving meal with the hospital employees. We would like to give kudos to the dietary staff. The food was outstanding as always!
A new Christmas tree has been purchased
by the volunteers and placed in the lobby for
all to enjoy. Also, the Christmas part was December 8th. The volunteers enjoyed food, music and door prizes. Food items were brought to
the party to donate to the local food pantry. In addition, $106.00 was collected to donate.
Lastly, an Auxiliary brochure has been created to be used as a tool to recruit new volunteers. The brochure lists program requirements, how to apply, etc.
The Vaughan Volunteers would like to wish everyone a
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Health New Year! S
Submitted by Kay Davidson, DVS
V
O L U20
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PAGE
DISTRICT
III
District
III (cont.)
20
Coosa Valley Medical Center
From Our Auxiliary to your Auxiliary
MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
October was a very busy month for
us. We had our Annual Awards
Banquet with the installation of officers for the 2014-2015 year. The
CVMC administrative officers
joined us for a great meal with entertainment.
The Fall Conference in Mobile
was attended by five of our board
members. We all had good things
to say about the meeting, food, and
vendors’ show. It is always good
to spend time with other Auxilians
to see and hear about what is going on in their group.
The week following the Fall Conference we had our two day Masquerade Jewelry Sale. We
had several of our Auxilians volunteer to help with the sale.
Our annual TB Skin Test and flu shots were given in October and November, and we were
all fitted with the N95 Mask. The Mask was a first for us but we did great with it.
December 4 we had our Annual Christmas Party and the Tree of Love lighting. The party
was held at the Hickory Street Café with dinner and gifts for everyone. The Tree of Love
lighting was held in the lobby of the hospital. The CVMC Choir sang several Christmas
songs, Rev. Looney gave a very touching devotion, and Mr. Lucas sang and played guitar as
our special guest. We had a great representation of our auxiliary and our lobby was filled with
guest. Refreshments were served after the lighting.
CVMC was the Grand Marshall of the Sylacauga
Christmas Parade this year. Two of our Auxilians rode
on the float to represent our auxiliary.
We have purchased an exercise bicycle for the
Health and Wellness Center, and a bicycle for the cardiac rehab department. We give the CVMC Nursing East Alabama
Home a gift of $500 to purchase Christmas gifts for the
residents in the Home..
Submitted by: Cheryl Webb, 1st Vice President , State
Board Vice Chairman
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
DISTRICT III (cont.)
PAGE 21
Citizens Baptist Medical Center
In October, to help promote breast cancer awareness, we
gave beautiful pink umbrellas to every woman who came in to have a mammogram done. The
response was overwhelming.
A memorial was held in remembrance of Dolores Morrow who passed after a long illness.
Dolores was our Vice President and overseer of the Gift Shop. Her family was invited to come
and join us for the ceremony. A plaque was presented to the family which will later be mounted on a wall within the Gift Shop. Refreshments were served in the banquet room. Dolores
was a volunteer from January 2002-June-2014. She is missed and will always be remembered.
Money was donated to renovate our cafeteria. New pub style tables and chairs, booths, new
flooring, overall painting as well as wall and table decorations were part of the new look. A
plaque will be placed in the cafeteria showing that the Volunteer Auxiliary did help to fund the
renovations.
Fundraisers for the quarter were great. We had Books R Fun, $5.00 Masquerade Jewelry
Sale and a Cookware sale for the first time.. We did a great job of promoting our events and
the results were very profitable.
We are very happy to introduce to you our newest volunteers. This quarter we had six new
members to join us. Harriett Hart, Shelia Walker, Annie Worrills, Rosa Wallace, Juanita Horn,
and Marquilla Gooden.
We were very excited to have had our DVS in attendance during the Fall Conference. She
along with three other members attended. We had a wonderful time. The programs were very
informative and interesting. We look forward to seeing everybody at our next conference. We
also look forward to seeing all District III Volunteers on February 25th when we will be hosting our District meeting. Happy New Year to all!
Submitted by Yvonne Estell-McElderry, Secretary
PAGE 22
DISTRICT III (cont.)
The EAMC Auxiliary has been very busy the last few months with various activities. On October 1st the Open Board meeting was held and officers for the 2014-2015 year were installed. At this meeting representatives from the Lee County sheriff department presented the Yellow Dot Program and Senior Safety, which was very
informative to all. Six volunteers attended the ACHA Fall Conference in Mobile where our
own teenage volunteer of the year, Searam Park was named the State Teenage Volunteer of the
Year.
East Alabama
On October 27th and 28th our annual Masquerade Jewelry Fundraiser was held with much success! With the support of volunteer, employees, and community sales exceed
previous years and was one of the best sales ever!
On November 5th a board Retreat was held for the Executive Board and all Service Chairs. Julia Pipes, Foundation
Director and Mary Weaver, Volunteer Coordinator lead the
group in a program called SWOT (strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Treats). This is a program where all participants interact and discuss ways to improve the Board as well
as the Auxiliary. Everyone left with a feeling of accomplishment and some great new ideas.
As we go into the holiday season, we at EAMC Auxiliary would like to wish everyone a
V O and
L U Merry
M E Christmas!
very safe, happy, blessed
PAGE 23
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 5
DISTRICT III (cont.)
Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial
It has been a busy fall for BWWMH Auxiliary members. President Johnnie Knott attended the Fall Conference,
held in Mobile in October. Several fund raisers were held:
Britches & Bows (children’s clothing), Jewelry Sale
(Masquerade), Uniform Sale, Love Lights (in memory or in
honor of loved ones) placed on five trees in the hospital lobby, and Corporate Wreaths to decorate the hospital hallways
during the months of November and December. These
sales brought in approximately, $11,550.00 that is being used
to buy equipment for the hospital. The Auxiliary has recently
purchased a Standing Frame for the Physical Therapy Department and heavy duty furniture for the Geri/Psyche day room.
In addition to fund raisers, the auxiliary held a Blood
Drive and collected 29 units.
On December 3rd, the auxiliary held its 25th Annual
love Lights Tree Lighting Ceremony in the hospital parking lot. This event kicked off the
Christmas on the River activities in Demopolis. Jacob Saelins, the 2014 Special Child, pulled
the switch to light the tree atop the hospital, and the children’s choir from Demopolis First
United Methodist Church entertained the crowd with Christmas songs. Afterwards the hospital furnished delicious refreshments in the lobby for all those in attendance. The auxiliary will
also sponsor and man a float in the COTR parade on December 6th.
BWWMH Auxiliary has recently welcomed four new members: Lorene Vice, Cindy
Malone, Olivia Daniels, and Alma Null. We look forward to working with them in 2015.
PAGE 24
Russell Medical Center
DISTRICT III (cont.)
24
Happy holidays and
Merry Christmas from Russell Medical Center. It
has been another very busy season for RMC Auxiliary. The annual Awards and Recognition Luncheon
was held in October. Mr. Jim Peace, CEO of Russell
Medical Center, was present to extend appreciation
on behalf of the hospital for the 16, 576 service
hours and announcing Mrs. Sarah Dunnham as the
2014 RMC Auxiliary Volunteer of the Year.
September and October were packed with fun.
Sixteen Auxiliary members were our representatives at the RMC Breast Cancer Awareness
Luncheon. Along with several hundred ladies from our community, we all enjoyed a wonderful lunch and a delightful program presented by Brenda Ladun, news anchor for ABC 33/40.
RMC Auxiliary members were on hand to assist local doctors and businesses in hosting
health screenings in the community. Several of the Board members attended the annual
ALAHA Fall Conference in Mobile, Alabama. The annual Masquerade Jewelry Sale raised
over $7,000.00 for the Scholarship Fund. This money is used to help qualified and deserving
students pursue an education in the health care field.
In mid November Auxiliary members posing as Santa’s helpers showed up to decorate the
Christmas Tree of Lights which shines brightly in the lobby of the hospital until the end of the
year. Hundreds of beautiful lights adorn the tree, but the focal point is the ornaments
bearing the names of friends and family members being honored or memorialized by loved
ones. All funds collected from the sale of the ornaments will be used for the Scholarship
Fund.
The newly renovated Auxiliary Gift Shop is filled to the brim with lovely and whimsical
Christmas items of all shape and form. The gift shop ladies do a great job all year long in
making sure there is always a fantastic selection
of gift ideas.
It has been a wonderful year at Russell Medical Center and we all look forward to seeing what
2015 has in store. Happy New Year!
Submitted by Helen Walton, Secretary
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
DISTRICT IV
PAGE 25
Constance Taylor, Chairman
District IV was well represented at the Fall Conference
held in Mobile. The Presidents in the District had been busy for the past year as evidenced by
their reports given at the meeting.
We have three auxiliaries that have agreed to host a meetings for the coming year, USA Medical Center, Thomas Hospital and USA Children and Women Hospital. We are looking forward to a great year and doing great things in our hospital and in our communities.
The Providence Hospital Auxiliary has had a very busy and active Fall and
early Winter. We sent 7 representatives to the ACHA Annual Conference
held at the Marriott Hotel in Mobile in mid-October. The programs and speakers for the conference were excellent! In keeping with our project of Heart Health, Providence Cardiologist,
Dr. Benjamin Citrin was one of the speakers. He did a wonderful job discussing heart issues
and heart disease. Our President and CEO, Mr. Clark Christianson, installed the new officers
at the Wednesday morning session. Linda Patterson, immediate Past President of Providence
Auxiliary, was installed as District IV Vice-Chairman. We’re extremely proud of Linda!
Providence
Our November luncheon was held on the 17th in the DePaul Center. The DePaul Center
was used as a temporary location for the cafeteria while renovations were underway in the
cafeteria. Those renovations are now complete and it looks wonderful!
We are pleased with the On-Line service for the Gift Shop. It is proving to be successful
and we hope it will increase sales in the future. Employee and Volunteer Appreciation weekend was December 5-7 and was very successful.
We have had a number of fund-raisers recently. Books R Fun October 30-31, Uniforms 2 U
November 13th, $5.00 Jewelry Sale December 1, 2, 3, and our Christmas Tree Lightning Ceremony on December 4th. Yes, you read that correctly, the $5.00 Jewelry Sale and The Christmas Tree Lighting in the same week. Our Volunteer Coordinator, Karen Dixon, DVS Mary
Ann Townson, and Ways and Means Chairman, Judy Fearn have yet to recover. Those ladies
are amazing!
For the months of September-November 2014 we had an average of 263 volunteers contributing an average of 2639.33 hours.
The renovations in the waiting areas and lab areas of Building B that were funded by the
Auxiliary are complete and look terrific.
I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and the best of everything in the New Year!
PAGE 26
DISTRICT IV (cont.)
26
Springhill Memorial
As 2014 winds down, our
Auxiliary is acting up. We have been busy with the traditional activities as well as some “extras.” Our hospital is
undergoing major renovations. In conjunction with the new
labor and Delivery suites, we donated $30,000 toward the
security system that will be in place there next year. It’s a
much needed addition. We also purchased an Automated
External Defibrillator (AED) for emergency use at
Springhill Senior Residence.
Several fund raising events also took place during this period: Masquerade Jewelry, Uniforms 2U, Books R Fun and Pink Party. The Pink Party is a fundraiser that contributes to
breast cancer research; our volunteers, plus many employees, give their time to this event.
In addition to fundraisers, October also brought a very special honor to our Auxiliary.
Clara Damp, our newsletter editor, won first place in ACHA’s annual newsletter contest. Last,
but not least, the hospital held Tech Day on October 30th which is a fun day. The theme for
the event was “Heroes.” Heroes are not only those in the armed forces, but also those behind
the stethoscope. The booths were manned by various companies displaying new products and
procedures to staff. Volunteers worked the check –in desk and gave out quizzes to be filled out
by employees visiting each booth.
December was extremely busy. On Decembr 1st we decorated the Christmas tree in the
hospital lobby. December 2nd we decorated the tree at the Springhill Senior Residence followed by caroling and refreshments. Acting jointly with SMH, Volunteers added their gifts to
the Wishmas List for the Springhill Senior Residents and local children’s homes. Volunteers
had their own annual Christmas party at Wintzell’s Oyster House on December 3rd. It is here
that we took gifts for Penelope House to be delivered after lunch.
We wish everyone the Merriest Christmas and a blessed New Year.
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
DISTRICT IV (cont.)
PAGE 27
USA Medical Center .
The University of South Alabama Medical Center Auxiliary board met following the Annual Fall Conference to begin making plans for the Holiday’s decoration and the Annual Dedication of Lights.
The members were pleased to know that the submission of the Auxiliary's Yearbook and
Special Program Project received second and third place awards respectively.
The Dedication of Lights was held on Wednesday, December 3rd. Teen volunteer Shalmali Bhadkamkar was a participant on the program and performed several Christmas songs.
Shalmali, is not only a teen volunteer, but also one of Mobile's famous Azalea Trail Maids.
In our ongoing effort to involve the community in our activities, we had participation from
the Emmanuel Seventh Day Adventist Church youth choir and the pastor of Springhill Avenue
United Methodist Church.
The usual $5.00 Jewelry Sale and Book Sale were held in November and were very profitable. The Auxiliary is presently moving forward on future projects that will involve the employees and the community at large.
PAGE 28
District IV (cont.)
USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital
Tis the Season for Volunteers to spread holiday
cheer at USA Children’s a & Women’s Hospital!
Volunteers provided the funds and their time to decorate the trees in the hospital and the large
tree on the lawn. Volunteers, including members of the pet therapy team (like Jeff and Molly
pictured), participated in the annual Lights of Love tree lighting.
The Volunteers held their second annual “A Cause for Celebration’ Silent Auction on November 6th and raised more than $8,000.00 for patient birthday parties and other celebrations. Pictured are some of the Silent Auction committee members: (standing) Becky Downing, Patricia
Juzang, and Frances Dixon, Silent Auction Chair: (bottom row) Belinda Baggett, Katie
Wheeler, and Rebekah Warren.
Fundraising: Fall uniform and book sales Resulted in $1,600.00 in profits for volunteer projects! December fundraising will
include a Candy-Gram Sale and a Masquerade Jewelry Sale.
A team of seven volunteer council members and Volunteer services staff attended the ACHA
fall conference in Mobile. It was an outstanding conference with great sessions and lost of
“take-a-ways’ that are already being incorporated in the hospital.
The Gift Shop is decked for the Holiday Season. New gift and decoration lines have been introduced and are well liked. Special thanks to the staff and volunteer team for making the
shop a retail destination along the Gulf Coast!
Volunteer Service Hours: 12,974 hours: (January—November 2014)
Number of current volunteers: 160
Submitted by Patricia Juzang, Volunteer Council Chair, and the Office of Volunteer Services
at USACWH on behalf of our wonder volunteers.
VOLUME 27 ISSUS 1
Mizell Memorial
District IV (cont.)
PAGE 29
Opp Mizell Memorial Hospital Auxiliary consists of 23
members. Many were undertaken to help facilitate various
needs of our small rural hospital.
The Christmas Tree of Lights and Love is our biggest
fundraiser. The ceiling-high tree is located in the lobby. It is
on display for a month holding 500 ornaments in memory or
in honor of a loved one. The tree-lighting ceremony is a
community event, featuring entertainment, refreshments and
fellowship. Proceeds from the Tree of Lights were over
$3,000.00.
The Auxiliary also sponsored a book fair, a jewelry sale before Christmas and the hospital
week T-shirt sale.
These financial contributions were used to enable the hospital to place two sleeper chairs
on the floors, several TV sets , two wheel chairs, a commercial mixer for the kitchen, new
trays and cash register for the dining room, a blood pressure machine, a lift for bed patients,
dumbbells for the wellness center pool and a pledge toward the purchase of a SEXASCAN.
In addition to financial aid, members average more than 3,000 hours per year contributing
help in such areas as manning an information desk in the lobby, shredding papers, placing
signs and doing radio spots advertising the Tree of Lights ceremony, preparing the ornaments
and setting up the tree, redoing folders, manning the dining room cash register and assisting in
any area where there is a need.
With today’s challenges in the health care system, small-town rural hospitals are struggling
to stay open. In the event a small-town hospital is forced to close, the loss of the hospital affects not only the medical care of citizens, but also the local and state economies. This is the
main reason our volunteers think the help we provide is vitally important.
PAGE 30
2014 Fall Conference Award Winners
Small—up to and including 60 auxiliary members
Medium—61 to 110 auxiliary members
Large—111 plus auxiliary members
Competition
Category
First Place
Second Place
Newsletter
Small
Trinity & Springhill Crestwood
Third Place
Citizens BMC
(Tie)
Tray Favors
Yearbook
Special Program
Medium
Northeast Alabama
None
None
Large
East AL
Huntsville
DCH
Small
Walker Baptist
Southwest AL
Medium
Shelby Baptist
St. Vincent’s East/ Northeast AL
Vaughan (Tie)
Large
Thomas Hospital
East Alabama
Small
Walker Baptist
USA Med. Center Coosa Valley/ Trinity (Tie)
Medium
Princeton
None
None
Large
DCH Regional
Thomas
Helen Keller
Wedowee
None
Small
Wedowee
St. Vincent’s St. Clair
USA Medical
Medium
Northeast AL
St. Vincent’s East
None
Large
East AL/UAB (Tie)
Mobile Infirmary
Thomas
VOLUME 27 ISSUE I
2014 Fall Conference Winners (cont.)
AND THE WINNERS ARE !!!!
PAGE 31
PAGE 32
2014 Fall Conference (cont.)
ALAHA Recognizes Hospital Volunteers
State Auxilian of the year, Janice Gillespie, St Vincent’s East
Teen Volunteer of the year, Searam Park, East Alabama Medical Center
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1
2014 Fall Conference (cont.)
Looking back...
Moving forward.
PAGE 33
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
The COMMUNICATOR
Yvonne Estell-McElderry
980 Cove Shocco Road
Talladega, AL 3516
[email protected]
(205)362-2232
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Communicator Deadline—March 8 June 8 September 8 December 8
2015 ACHA Fall Conference November 1-4
Sheraton Hotel, Birmingham, AL
National Volunteers Week April 12-18
ACHA Board Meetings - January 21 April 15 July 15 November 1
The Communicator is ONLINE!
Go to www.alaha.org.
Click on AFFILIATES
Stroll down to Auxiliaries, Alabama Council of Hospitals (ACHA)
Open Communicator. Enjoy your reading. Share this “Communicator “
with other volunteers in your auxiliary.
If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours!