Heavy Hearts

Our beloved Dr. Madigane passed away last night.  It is difficult to remember a time when she wasn't a part of the Stewart Memorial family and the Tyne Valley community. Our hearts are heavy with this sad news.

We have decided to postpone our annual Valentine's dance that was scheduled for Saturday, February 8 at the Ellerslie Legion and hold it on Saturday, February 22.

A Facebook photo album of some pictures from Dr. Madigane's time at Stewart Memorial can be viewed here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.645687212160052.1073741829.461079150620860&type=3

Dr. Joyce Madigane

Dancing Time Again

As of this month, our group is in its 64th year of fundraising for Stewart Memorial!

We've held lots of different types of events over the years, but none any better supported than our annual Valentine's dance.  We actually took this event over from the SMH Board when it was dissolved in 1995 and it has been a great fundraiser for our group.

Here are the details for this year's event:

Proceeds from the dance will be used to purchase items needed for the care and comfort of Stewart Memorial residents.  Hope to see you there!

New Name, Same Mission

First we were the Ladies Aid of the Stewart Memorial Health Centre.  Then we were the Stewart Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, though many still referred to us as the Ladies Aid (and "Ladies" never seemed to have an apostrophe - sorry, grammar police!)

As of October 21, 2013, we are the Stewart Memorial Healthcare Auxiliary.  Our members not only voted to change our name, we affirmed our commitment to support healthcare initiatives in the Tyne Valley area.  Stewart Memorial is now a long term care facility and its residents still need our support, so we will continue to raise money to purchase items for their care and comfort.

January 2014 will be our 64th anniversary and we are very pleased to still be working together on the common goal of good healthcare for all our neighbours.  The changes to Stewart Memorial have been challenging, but we are hopeful for the future and proud of our past.

In the very near future is our Annual Christmas Tea and Bazaar! It will be held on Wednesday, November 20th from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Tyne Valley Fire Hall, 7078 Route 12 in the beautiful village of Tyne Valley.  Come and enjoy an afternoon tea complete with delicious sandwiches and sweets, tea and coffee, and shop at our bountiful bake and craft tables.  This has been a Tyne Valley tradition for over 45 years!  Admission is $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for students and children under 6 get in free.  This is a much-anticipated event each year and a great place to see old friends and perhaps meet new ones!

So, that's our news.  We're still here, we're still needed, and we still value your support. Thanks!

Two Big Fundraisers

The one constant theme over our 63 years of fundraising for Stewart Memorial Hospital has been the generosity of our supporters.  We've held many different types of events over the years, but raising funds is only possible when people come out and give us their money!  It's a simple transaction, but powerful.

Our two recent fundraisers have raised a lot of money for our hospital and that's what we are all about!  The Sweetheart Dance, moved from near Valentine's Day to March due to a nasty February storm, brought in $1,200.  Then our Spring Concert earlier this month raised $1,100!  What an amazing show of support from our community, and thank you to everyone who gave so generously.

The Spring Concert was a really fun evening filled with great music and lots of laughs!  Many thanks to the members of Harmony Mill, The Sisters,  Roy MacCaull, Wanda (Annie) Dunbar, and our special guests from The Britannia Hall Players (and great Auxiliary members all) Kim Dennis, Cindy Gorrill and Pam MacKinnon - their Mabel, Sally and Gertie were a big hit!

We also had lots of people who generously donated items for raffles, door prizes, and fudge and water sales.  Thanks to all!

Details about our next fundraiser will be coming soon - we'll give you a break for now!

Music and Laughs for a Spring Evening

Harmony Mill

The third annual Spring Concert for Stewart Memorial Hospital will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. at Britannia Hall, 816 Canada Road in Tyne Valley.

Concertgoers can expect an evening of diverse and excellent entertainment. The Harmony Mill Band will blend their guitars and voices on a few numbers.  Local musical hero Roy MacCaull will also put his guitar and great voice to work, and as a special treat he is going to bring to life some of his own musical heroes.  Singing trio The Sisters will offer up a couple of their favourite songs.

Word has reached concert organizers that their friend Annie will be visiting from Way Up West to give her own unique and funny take on life.  And a couple of ladies from the beloved Britannia Hall players are promising to add some fun and humor to the evening as they poke fun at recent current events!  There will also be a fudge sale, 50/50 and a raffle draw for a beautiful hand-knit afghan.

Concert tickets are $7.50 and will be available at the door.  Please join us to have some old-fashioned fun in the historic and beautiful Britannia Hall and support our wonderful Stewart Memorial Hospital.

The Stewart Memorial Hospital Auxiliary has been fundraising for 63 consecutive years.  Members continue to raise thousands of dollars each year to purchase items for the care and comfort of hospital patients and residents.

To Love and To Cherish

Erma and Richard Found lived in Bideford for 25 years from 1937 to 1962 while Mr. Found worked at the Ellerslie Biological Station.  They were both very active community volunteers.  Mr. Found was the first chairman of the Stewart Memorial Hospital board and drew up the plans for the hospital, while Mrs. Found was an active Auxiliary member.

Mrs. Found wrote her memoir entitled To Love and To Cherish in 1975.  In it she related many of the challenges of living in rural Prince Edward Island, especially the precarious nature of healthcare available at that time.

The following excerpt from her book rings true today.  Sadly, we no longer have a local board, but we certainly have the dedicated staff and volunteers!

“For a district without the services of a local doctor, there were mounting difficulties in times of emergency to bring medical aid from Summerside, some twenty-five miles away.  We couldn’t expect a doctor to assume the responsibilities of an isolated community without a well-equipped small hospital, however small.  Murmurings of concern came from every district, so it was finally decided to build our own hospital.

What does a community need to begin a hospital?  A hospital cannot be built without hard work or without dedicated men and women.

A community needs leadership to draw together these men and women – someone who has enough faith and determination to see the project completed in spite of many discouragements that attend such an undertaking.

A community needs women.  They’re the ones who have uncanny capacity for raising money for the hospital requirements.

In order to build a hospital, a community needs a Hospital Board of fine, farsighted people who have confidence and faith in their community.

The final requirement is a staff of dedicated nurses and a doctor with integrity, ideals and ambition, who support the hospital for what they can put into it and not for what they can get out of it.

When we decided to build a hospital in our district, we recognized that all these qualifications had to be in our community.  We would name our hospital “The Stewart Memorial Health Center” in memory of a former doctor who had given his life for this community years ago."

Show Your Pride!

The Friends of Stewart Memorial Hospital have been working very hard preparing for the April 15 rally against the recently announced changes at SMH.  The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Ellerslie Elementary.  The Auxiliary are helping with this meeting and now we need your help, too.  It would really just take a couple of minutes of your time.

We are looking for photos of people holding a sign that says Proud of MY Stewart Memorial Hospital.  The one we created can be downloaded here for printing.

If you have a group, you can download and print a sign that says Proud of OUR Stewart Memorial Hospital here.

Be as creative as you like, just make sure we can see you and your sign. (If you want to make your own PROUD sign, please do, but keep it simple and suitable for all ages!)

When you've taken your photo, email it to smhauxiliary@gmail.com.  We need them by April 14, so you have a chance to get photos of lots of people!

Then come out to the April 15 rally and see us all united and proud of our wonderful hospital.