Heartbeat - Annapolis Valley Health
Transcription
Heartbeat - Annapolis Valley Health
Winter 2013-14 Heartbeat AVH Volunteer Resources 26 years of service! Pat Foote (right), volunteer at Valley Regional Hospital, receiving recognition for 26 years of service from Janet Knox, President and CEO, during National Volunteer Week, April 2013 Congratulations, Pat! A volunteer goes to Transylvania , and returns!! June Jain For 20 days in September (2013), my husband and I joined 26 newly retired professionals on a bus tour of the Balkans and Transylvania. An experience of a life time, we learned a great deal about those lands between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church, painted with such skill in silver and gold, and the magnificent architecture, were incredible. Emerging from tight-fisted communist rule, their churches are celebrated. Transylvania means Dracula! Yes, Count Dracula (1431-1476) really lived in Bran Castle! Those roof top towers and the secret passages below were precarious! The castle itself is beautiful, situated at the mouth of a Carpathian mountain pass. Known as Vlad the Impaler, his practice was to impale his enemies on 8 foot stakes in fields for public viewing. His reputation for this excessive cruelty made him known throughout Europe. The idea that he sucked blood, preferably from beautiful women, originated with the Irish writer Bram Stocker! Sighisoara in Romania is his birthplace. A family restaurant is now on the street level of his former home, and the family live upstairs. As Romania opens up to tourists, this enterprise is flourishing! On leaving, diners should check their teeth! VOLUNTEERS ARE UNPAID NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE WORTHLESS, BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE PRICELESS Why Do I Volunteer? Nancy Cassidy My reasons change as I age. I started volunteering, quite simply, to make my parents proud of me. Both my parents were lifelong volunteers and my siblings volunteer. We were raised to it. As a newly married couple, my husband and I looked for something at which we could volunteer together. For him, the obligation to contribute to our community was the strongest motivator. For me, it was to show my parents that I knew how to be a responsible adult. The fact that I was adding value to our community was a secondary bonus. Then came International Women’s Year, and I became possessed. Volunteering took on the aura of a cause. I felt very keenly the need to expand rights and opportunities for women. This time, improving my community - the global community of women – was foremost in my motivation. As we settled down to raising a family, we tried to inject some balance into our volunteering by looking for activities that involved my small business or our children, while still allowing us to be involved in our community. Interestingly, by this time it had become valid for women, traditionally short on work experience, to include volunteer experience on their résumés. Leading and teamwork in a volunteer position could be as important as paid experience. Now, as a senior citizen with lots of time on my hands and very few places where I need to be, volunteering has switched to being probably of more value to me than to my community. It really is true what everyone has been saying all these years – getting out and meeting people, doing something of value – is incredibly important to the quality of life for a senior citizen. Heck, just the actual moving involved is of enormous benefit to these old arthritic joints! Using physical and social skills regularly are all taken for granted as younger adults. As senior citizens, not so much. We have to work at all of this. And volunteering is not only an excellent way to stay in the game - for me, it’s now essential. Volunteering in Maternal/Child June Jain As a volunteer in Maternal/Child, I “file” forms for our new moms and also for each new baby. Designing the work station has made this very personal. These forms are used by our medical staff – some leaving with the moms, one going to the Registrar General and some remaining on site as a record of their stay at Valley Regional. It is a generally happy ward, with proud parents and relatives. One of the very special nurses was once my student, and a few are parents of students I taught at K.C.A. In this small way I can say thank you to A.V.R.S. for their support of my son Trevor when he was doing his medical residency! SAVE THE DATE! 2nd Annual HIKE FOR HOSPICE Sunday May 4, 2014 For details visit www.valleyhospice.ca or call 365-1701 ext 3471 Valley Regional Hospital Auxiliary Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital’s Junior volunteers, 2012-2013 Sandra Whitney The 40 Auxiliary members and many volunteers operate the Gift Shop, the principal fundraiser. Once a year we have a 20% off day. We also hold bake and craft sales at both sites. Thus far this year we have donated $7,442 towards a hospital bed, $10,000 to the Hospice project, and $10,000 to the New York Gala. We also contribute to the Festival of Lights. At graduation time we award a $2,000 bursary to a graduating student entering a health-related field. Valentine teas are held at the Valley Regional Hospital and the Chipman site. Judging from the thank you’s received, the staff of both facilities greatly appreciate this occasion. closing ceremonies, June 2013. Attended by Elizabeth Spinney, Auxiliary President, Jim Mosher, Chair SMH Foundation, Lisa Salley, Assistant Unit Manager VAC, Sylvia Crowe, Co-Chair Jr. Volunteers', Sara Langford, Volunteer Resources Consultant and Shelley Reycraft, Chair of the Jr. Volunteers. In 2012-13, 17 volunteers went through the program. The 2013-14 program is now underway, with 15 volunteers in total, 12 being new. A huge thank-you to our Auxiliaries throughout the District for their invaluable support! Peer Support Volunteer Joins the Beacon Program Sarah Janes and Ashley Perry Johnathan Wade completed the Beacon Program as a participant back in 2006 then returned this summer as an AVH volunteer. He wanted to gain valuable work experience for his Human Services studies at the Nova Scotia Community College. He also wanted to share his story of hope and recovery with other young people facing mental health challenges. John volunteered with the program three days a week and his role involved helping with group sessions, promoting wellness, and offering up his experience and support. Current participants spoke highly of John, describing him as easy-going, a hard worker, and someone always willing to get involved and help out. Jon also spoke highly of them: “I learned that the clients I have met here are very instrumental in their own recovery. They want to make a profound change”. The Beacon Program wishes Jon great luck in his final year of college and his future career as a helping professional! Johnathan & program participants New gardens at SMH!!! Melissa Tate Recently the gardens at SMH were starting to look a little tired. Luckily, the Hospital is surrounded by an amazing community of people who are always willing to volunteer their time and talents to help the hospital look its best: Donna Burton, a local community resident brought forth some fresh ideas for the grounds and worked with Site Manager Jeanne Saulnier to reach out to others in the community for help. CFB Greenwood volunteered to tear out the old gardens and brought the heavy machinery needed to get the job done. Michael Gillespie (Michael Gillespie Horticultural Services) provided a plan for the grounds as well as sod and gravel to give a low cost, low maintenance new look to the site. General Manager Anne Callanan (Middleton Home Hardware) and her staff provided flowers and foliage for the front and rear garden boxes which really helped to brighten things up. All together the work done by all these community volunteers has provided Soldiers’ Memorial with a beautiful new look. We continue to be amazed and truly thankful for our wonderful community and its continuous support to the Hospital. SMH Auxiliary activities in 2013 Shelley Reycraft APRIL: A very successful fundraiser was held, a stuffed roast pork supper, catered by Chefs at CFB Greenwood. As well, the annual Florence Nightingale Coffee Party took place during Volunteer Week, for ALL the hospital’s employees. MAY: The Auxiliary celebrated its 60th anniversary on May 25th. To date it has raised $1,000,000 for the hospital. The event was very well attended. Two life memberships were given out, one to the President of our Auxiliary, Elizabeth Spinney (top, right) , and one to Adora Parsons (bottom, left). JUNE: The 3rd annual Serenade in the park was held, featuring the Annapolis Big Band. OCTOBER: Another successful fundraiser, Girls Night Out was held on the 25th. A night of pampering: complimentary wine/punch, foot/neck massages, make-up, tarot card reading, and more. Catered by Falcourt. NOVEMBER: The Light A Bulb campaign, honouring loved ones. For $5.00 names can be put on the Christmas tree in the main entry of the hospital. We hope you enjoyed this edition of our newsletter, which we produce bi-annually. We welcome comments and suggestions about our newsletter, and submission of material for our next edition, in the summer of 2014. Please email Sara Langford at [email protected] or call us on 679-2657 extension 2500.