The history of hospital auxiliaries dates back to 1639 when, according to the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare website, three sisters from Dieppe started the Hotel Dieu in Quebec.
The Huntsville Auxiliary isn’t quite 376 years old but its longevity is impressive nonetheless.
The first meeting is recorded as having taken place on November 16, 1955 – 60 years ago. It was chaired by Mrs. Christine Lough, and executive members were Eileen Quantrell as President, Erma Tipper as Vice President, Marge Flannery as Secretary, Kathy Giaschi as Treasurer, Beryl Bell as Corresponding Secretary and Mrs. Cockram as Hospitality Convener.
In recognition of their 60th anniversary, the Auxiliary hosted a buffet luncheon at Grandview’s Mark O’Meara Club House on the weekend. More than 80 people attended the celebration and were on hand when Lois Spiers and Joyce White were honoured as this year’s recipients of a permanent life membership in recognition of their years of service, leadership, and camaraderie.
Those who are lucky enough to have been around as long as the Auxiliary will fondly recall some of their early initiatives – staffing the phones in the evening during the summer months, knitting booties for newborns, hand-made spruce cones for tag day, tray favours for Christmas time, the start-up of a marathon bridge club that continues to this day, the Candy Striper program, the initiation of Meals-on-Wheels in Huntsville, television rentals, the Christmas House tour and of course, the very successful operation of the gift shop.
The hard work of the Auxiliary has paid off with over $1.7 million having been donated to the hospital in the last 60 years, an amount of which Hospital Auxiliary president, Sharon McNally, is proud. “We are constantly raising money. Each year around January we check with the different departments to see what type of equipment they might need and then according to our funds and our ability to raise money we make a selection, order it, and pay for it. This past year we purchased a new fridge to store blood supplies and we also purchased a fetal monitor and an oxygen saturation monitor for obstetrics, costing somewhere in the vicinity of $51,000.”
The Auxiliary members also donate their time. According to McNally, last year more than 15,000 service hours were logged in the clinic and hospital for such things as blood donor clinics, chemotherapy, and day surgery by the 133 members. All told, with fundraising and administration, nearly 22,000 volunteer hours were put in.
Sadly, one of the Auxiliary’s longest standing members, Ruth Newell, passed away the day before the luncheon.
Ruth had been a member for just about 58 years and was still serving until sometime this current year. We had been hoping that she would be well enough to attend the banquet. We had planned a tribute to her because of the number of things she has done over the years for the Auxiliary. She was always a very positive person. She served as president and as gift shop convener. I would think if I looked back in the minutes there wouldn’t be a position she hadn’t helped with.Auxiliary president, Sharon McNally
The Hospital Auxiliary is always looking for new members. McNally says it’s fun but it’s also a way to use your skills, to gain more knowledge about the healthcare industry and a great way to meet new people. Anyone interested can glean more information from the Auxiliary page on the MAHC site, from the Auxiliary’s Facebook page (yes, they have a Facebook page) or by phoning the Director of Volunteers, Lorrie Lamb at 705-789-0022 x2297.
Join the discussion: