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:
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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 slangford@avdha.nshealth.ca or call us on
679-2657 extension 2500.