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Auxiliary
With a membership over 55 members
strong, the Auxiliary of the Bryan
Whitfield Memorial Hospital Auxiliary are as
varied as the colors of spring wildflowers.
They come from all walks of life and range
in age from 15- to 90+-years-old.
Some have never worked outside the
home for pay while others have retired after
years of holding down steady jobs. Some are
even still students in high school (VolunTEENs)
and college. Still
others find time to donate untold hours of
volunteer service while juggling the demands
of home and work at the same time. They have
various hobbies, talents and interests.
There is, however, one motivating
factor that they all have in common…an
instinctual desire to offer their time and
talents to the service of others.
“We have a wonderful group of
ladies who all enjoy giving of themselves to
help others,” said Brenda Parr, BWWMH
Auxiliary President. “We just enjoy doing
our part to help make the patients happier
and healthier.”
Theirs is no small part, according to
Mike Marshall, CEO/Administrator. “These
men and women come in here each day with their
sleeves rolled up, ready to dig into
whatever job is before them. They have a
can-do attitude that is infectious.”
That attitude is what led the group
to donate over 12,000 hours of service to the
facility in 2007. “These volunteers are always
looking for new ways to help out our staff
and patients,” Marshall said.
In November 2004, the Auxiliary began
offering snacks to patients each day at 10
a.m. and 2 p.m. The carts are filled in the
Dietary Department, and the patients’
dietary restrictions are checked by the
nursing staff, and then they go from
room to room offering juices and snacks.
“We really enjoy taking the carts
around,” Parr said. “It gives us an
opportunity to give the nurses a hand while
at the same time affording us an opportunity
to visit with each patient and their
families.”
Other duties carried out by the
Auxilians include staffing the visitor’s
desk in the hospital’s main lobby,
assisting patients in the Outpatient Medical
Center, and staffing and operating the Gift
Shop. During the past year they’ve also
sponsored three book fairs, two wildly
successful $5 jewelry sales, the annual Love
Lights event that kicks off Christmas on the
River, a couple of uniform sales and various
other fundraising events. All of this is
accomplished while they are also busy
sponsoring the annual Christmas Door
Decoration Contest, decorating the facility
for each holiday season, manning their own
float in the COTR Day Parade, making lovely
handmade shrouds for any stillborn infants,
providing tray favors for patients in the
hospital during various holidays, sponsoring
community blood drives throughout the year,
and the list goes on and on.
Marshall added that patients in our medical
service area are not the only ones who
benefit from the work of BWWMH Auxilians.
“Our group is well-represented on the
State level as we have two state officers of
the Alabama Council of Hospital Auxiliaries
on our membership roll.” Sharon Farst
serves as Chairman Elect and Linda
Burnham is the Gift Shop Chairman.
With the success of their various
fundraisers during the past, the volunteers have
also been on a spending spree this year as
they have made several major purchases for
the hospital and established two new
scholarships for students interested in
pursuing a career in healthcare.
“It’s hard to put a value on
everything they do for us,” Marshall said,
“but in terms of direct purchases
they’ve made on our behalf, they have
helped free us to use that same money on
other capital purchases that might have had
to be put off.”
“While we do appreciate the work
they perform and the donations they make to
the facility, above all else, the intangible
benefit of having them around here, helping
our patients, representing us so well to the
community, and lifting the spirits of
patients and staff with a quick smile and
helping hand are what make them so special
and valuable to our organization,” said
Marshall.
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