Dancing The Night Away

We had another great crowd for the 25th Annual Stewart Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Valentine's Dance.    It would be difficult to find a more energetic and dedicated group of dancers!  Our community once again came together to pull off a successful evening.  We had lots of great sandwiches and sweets, door prizes and raffle prizes.

The raffle prizes were won by the following people:

1st Prize - Two nights for two with breakfasts and dinners at the Rodd Mill River Resort: Aleah MacLennan
2nd Prize - Mahogany infant's rocking cradle from Community Connections: James Williams
3rd Prize - Burgundy office chair from HMS Office Supplies: Shirley Doyle
4th Prize - Afghan donated by Bea Ballum: Aleah MacLennan

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who purchased tickets.

Here's some photos from the dance setup.  We've got the best helpers!

25th Anniversary of Our Valentine's Dance!

Silver anniversaries are occasions for great celebration and remembrance within families.  For the Stewart Memorial Hospital family, the 25th Annual Valentine’s Dance on Saturday, February 18 will be every bit as fun and special.

For the first few years, the dances were organised by the Stewart Memorial Hospital Board.  By the mid-90s, the SMH Auxiliary had taken over the coordination of this major fundraiser.  “It is through the great generosity of local businesses donating door prizes, and individuals providing support, that we are able to hold this event each year,” said Doreen Wooder, SMH Auxiliary President.  “We have always served a beautiful lunch half way through the evening, and people from all the 22 communities provide the delicious food.”

As in the past twenty-four years, the dance will be held in the Ellerslie Legion.  Live music will once again be provided by Old Habits.

Auxiliary members are also selling raffle tickets that will be drawn that night.  The four donated prizes are: two nights for two with breakfasts and dinners at the Rodd Mill River Resort, a mahogany infant’s rocking cradle from Community Connections, a leather arm chair from HMS Office Supplies, and an afghan from Bea Ballum.

President Wooder noted that local residents are big supporters of the dance, but people also come from Summerside and O’Leary as well.  “They tell us they look forward to coming to Ellerslie each year because of the great atmosphere, and we really appreciate their support of our hospital.”

And that support has been substantial: over the past twenty-four years, the dances have raised nearly $48,000 for Stewart Memorial Hospital.  Auxiliary members hope that the $50,000 mark will be surpassed this year. 

Dance tickets are $12 each.  You can reserve them by calling Doreen at 831-2975 or there will also be tickets at the door.

Carolyn Millar (left) and Ruth MacLennan take a break from wrapping door prizes

for the 2012 Stewart Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Valentine's Dance.  

Bringing Nature In

Stewart Memorial Hospital has always benefited from the talents of local artists.  In the early 1980s, the Auxiliary contacted local painters and encouraged them to donate something to the hospital.  14 paintings were donated and they still hang in the hospital, along with a plaque indicating who created the work.

More recently, Deborah Kerr has used her great talent to brighten the walls of SMH.  The outpatient department waiting room was renovated a couple of years ago and Deborah painted a beautiful mural of lupins, insects and hummingbirds.

With its hidden ladybugs, spiders, ants and bees, it's the perfect piece to entertain everyone: older patients can dream about being in their gardens, and children can challenge themselves to find every little creature they can.

Deborah was back over the Christmas holidays to beautify another couple of corners.  The main entrance gained some gorgeous sunflowers and chickadees.

And the back entrance was not forgotten, either, when this majestic eagle landed to survey his domain.

Each of these murals bring nature and beauty into our hospital, both necessary for healing and comfort.  Congratulations to Deborah for a job well done!  

From Far And Wide

Once again our supporters helped make our annual Christmas Tea a big success!  We raised over $2,700 to support Stewart Memorial Hospital.  Almost $900 of that total came from our bake table alone!  And no wonder, with delicious goodies like this to tempt shoppers:

We had so many wonderful volunteers in the kitchen, serving guests, and selling at our bake, craft and raffle tables.  Thank you for your great work.

Tyne Valley's Shelly Campbell is a decorating genius, and she once again created a beautiful setting for our tea.  It's a lot of work for Shelly to transport everything to the fire hall, arrange it all so elegantly and then take it all down after the tea and take it home.  Shelly will always say that decorating for special events is something she loves, and doing something you love is never work, so she is happy to help.  Her cheerful generosity is just further proof of what a wonderful woman she is!

Our fellow PEI Association of Healthcare Auxiliary members did us proud as we had guests from each of the other four Island auxiliaries!  It was so good of them to make the drive to Tyne Valley.

From left to right, SMH Member Kit Loschiuk, PEIAHA President Norma Getson (Western Hospital, Alberton) and PEIAHA Past-President Linda Patterson-Gibson (Kings County Memorial Hospital, Montague)

We were especially pleased to have Her Honour Mrs. Dorothy Lewis, wife of Prince Edward Island's Lieutenant Governor Frank Lewis, in attendance.  Mrs. Lewis, who is originally from the Tyne Valley area and is the sister of our present treasurer Janice Trowsdale, is also a member of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Auxiliary.  We were proud that she found the time in her very busy schedule to join our festivities.

Although yours truly tried to get out of the kitchen to take more photos, I wasn't successful, as the meagre selection in the Picasa photo album in the right sidebar proves.  You'll have to take my word that it was a great afternoon - fun and profitable, which is what makes Auxilians happy!  The weather was sunny and warm, as was the cheery atmosphere in the hall.

See you all in 2012!

Tea Time

A group of our Auxiliary members were reminiscing recently about our Christmas teas.  We tried to remember how long we had been holding them and no one really knew, though we guessed it was probably 50 years or more.  The teas were once held in the Stewart Memorial Hospital itself, but when the Tyne Valley Fire Hall came along, we moved there, and that is where we have stayed.

This year the tea will be held on Wednesday, November 16 from 3:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.  Enjoy delicious sandwiches and sweets, tea or coffee, and the pleasure of seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Our popular bake and craft tables will be overflowing with tempting treats for you to purchase and take home. Our very talented decorator Shelly Campbell will once again transform the fire hall into a Christmas wonderland.  We'll have raffle tickets available on a lovely afghan and we'll draw for a Christmas centerpiece donated by Kelly's Flower Shoppe in Summerside.

All this for $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for students and free for children 6 year and under.

The best part is that all proceeds will go towards the care and comfort of patients at Stewart Memorial Hospital.  Hope to see you there!

Money In, Money Out

We're back in the saddle at the SMHA ranch!  Here's some of our latest news:

• Our raffle on a case of lobster raised $1,375, which is a great result!  Thanks to all the volunteers who sold tickets and to all those generous people who bought them.  We have this raffle every summer, so expect us to be "trapping" you in our lobster raffle next year!
• The auxiliary recently made a large donation of $5,000 towards the purchase of 12 new mattresses for the long-term care residents.  The mattresses are already in use and are providing the residents with superior comfort and support.  This donation represents a large percentage of the money raised by the Auxiliary over the past year.  Here's a photo of Auxiliary President Doreen Wooder (right) and Stewart Memorial Hospital Nurse Coordinator Kelly Blanchard with one of the new mattresses.

• Four of our members attended the PEIAHA annual meeting on Saturday, October 22 at the Montague Curling Club.  Our members enjoyed meeting up with fellow auxiliary members from across PEI.  This meeting marked the end of the Kings County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary's two-year term as the PEIAHA executive and they all did a great job!  The baton now passes to the Western Hospital Auxiliary in Alberton, so we look forward to a trip west for the semi-annual meeting in April.

A Great Party!

Saturday, July 9 started off cloudy and grey.  By noon the rain had started and our  Stewart Memorial Hospital 60th anniversary celebration would have to be postponed until our Sunday rain date.

And what a day it was!  

Bright sunshine, gentle breeze and lots of hospital supporters made for one of the nicest events at the hospital in recent memory.  MC and hospital administrator Andrew MacDougall capably guided the official proceedings and added many funny stories of his associations with SMH.  Special guest Stewart Brookins, grandson of Dr. Stewart, brought greetings on behalf of his family and then presented the hospital with the original copy of his grandfather's 1904 McGill Medical School class picture.

Representatives from groups associated with the hospital then gave their remarks.  Ruth MacLellan, niece of Mrs. Eliza Stewart (Dr. Stewart's wife), and a long-standing SMH Auxiliary member, spoke on behalf of her fellow Auxiliary members. Heath MacLellan and Leigh Newcombe, the sons of the contractors for the original hospital, told stories about the building of the hospital.  Leigh also brought greetings from the SMH Foundation.   Thelma Phillips reflected on the role the hospital has played in the life of the community.

Dr. Madigane, Chief of Medical Staff at SMH, looked back over her 36-year career in Tyne Valley.  Paula Biggar, MLA for Tyne Valley-Linkletter, brought greetings on behalf of the Hon. Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Health and Wellness, and offered her own congratulations as well.  Denis Marantz spoke on behalf of the PEI Health board.  Co-chair of the Friends of SMH, Lynden Ellis, spoke about his group and the commitment of the community to the hospital.  Darlene Bernard, Chief of Lennox Island First Nation, talked about the importance of SMH to the residents of her community.  Kelly Blanchard, Director of Nursing at SMH, told of her time at the hospital and congratulated the staff and volunteers.

After the official ceremonies, a tree was planted in front of the hospital to honour the work of all the staff and volunteers over the hospital's 60 year history.

As usual, the members of the SMH Auxiliary, with much help from community members and hospital staff, offered up some lovely refreshments: sandwiches, sweets and punch.  Judy at MJ's Bakery in Tignish created an amazing cake in the shape of SMH and it tasted every bit as good as it looked.

The summer students working at the hospital created a "Kids Zone" in the gazebo and entertained the children with face painting, games, treats and even a pinata! Madam Memoria, ensconced in a beautifully decorated tent, looked into the future and told the fortunes of those lucky enough to get an audience with her.  A display of memorabilia was also available in the board room.

We were honoured to have many former staff and volunteers with us for the afternoon, and everyone seemed to enjoy the opportunity to catch up with old friends.  Many remarked that they hoped we wouldn't wait another 60 years to hold a similar celebration!