Across the Province

Congratulations to these Auxiliaries Celebrating Special Anniversaries

Prince George News:

The Spirit of the North Health Care Foundation, the Auxiliary to UHNBC in Prince George and Northern Health partnered in a $300,000.00 renovation project to improve the quality of life for the 66 residents who live at the Jubilee Lodge Long Term Care facility. The auxiliary funded the cost of the new beds to the tune of $100,000.00. The walls were painted with new cheerful colours that are quite soothing compared to the former oranges and reds on the wall. The old bed side cabinets were removed and new custom built cabinets were installed. The new dressers and drawers are very much enjoyed by the residents who now can store more clothing and have a secure place to store possessions. A large wardrobe was also built and installed in the hallway. New beds were ordered that are wider that provide an increased level of security for the residents. The residents are enjoying the new beds that are not narrow and constricting; many have commented that the new beds are more comfortable and easier to adjust independently. The beds were ordered late in 2019 and were to be delivered in two installments in March and June of 2020 to allow for the renovations to be completed. However, due to Covid-19 and the many safety precautions that were placed on Long Term Care, the beds could not be delivered and were placed in storage. Final delivery of the beds did not take place until September of 2020. All but 14 of the beds have been installed. Those beds are waiting for TVs to be mounted which will be done by the end of October.

Customers Are Delighted as Gift Shop Reopens in Squamish

Winter stock is put away. The Gift Shop is deep cleaned. Summer stock is tastefully displayed. Plexiglas is installed. Signs are made. Finally, the Gift Shop operated by the Squamish General Hospital Auxiliary Society is ready to reopen. Julie Erb, our Auxiliary’s President, ensured that every minute detail was looked after. Because of Covid 19, the Gift Shop has been closed since early March. In July, Vancouver Coastal Health gave the Society permission to reopen providing the Shop followed strict protocols established by health officials. Hospital management wavery supportive in helping the Gift Shop to reopen.
Some of our Auxiliary members volunteered to staff the Shop. One member works in the Shop and a second member ensures that only one customer at a time is in the Shop. Clothing may neither be tried on nor returned. Everything in disinfected both at the beginning and the end of each shift. This includes doors, windows, cash register, counters, plexiglass, light switches, etc. In other words, everything that the customer and the volunteer touch must be sanitized.
At the beginning, the Shop’s hours were Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. In late August, as more members volunteered, it increased its opening time to five days a week. A Saturday shift has now been added.
It is encouraging to receive support from Hospital staff, visitors and patients. Together we can make a difference!

By Carolynn Robertson, Secretary
Squamish General Hospital Auxiliary Society

The Sunshine Coast:

The Sunshine Coast celebrated their 75th anniversary 10 years ago. They join the rest of the province in sending greetings to the BCAHA on their 75th Anniversary as well!

Halloween fun on the Sunshine Coast. Cackle, cackle! Never too old to stop enjoying Halloween! Cashier Joyce Quart certainly got into the spirit of the day!

Sunshine Coast Quilters Guild – Masks for Transit!
This past spring, the Sunshine Coast Healthcare Auxiliary and Quilters Guild joined forces to deliver scrub caps, bags and masks to our hospital workers and care homes. We exceeded the goals then and the group was put on hold.
Christine Fenn and a small team of sewers have been delivering masks to the community as well. But her team just can’t keep up with the recent upsurge in demand. So the Sunshine Coast Hospital Foundation reached out to the Auxiliary, and the Quilters Guild and Auxiliary sewers have joined forces with Christine and her team to produce and distribute 2400 masks to the community. This is a large sewing endeavor for which many hands are needed. Karen Biddlecombe of the Halfmoon Bay Branch & Past President of the Sunshine Coast Quilters Guild is coordinating a group of 32 volunteer sewers in total! On top of that, we contacted the SCRD Transit Manager and have now arranged to supply masks to their nine daily drivers so that no passenger is turned away due to lack of a mask. On September 25th Karen and Christine delivered the first batch.
A HUGE thank you goes out to Karen, Christine and all the sewing ladies who have donated their precious fabric and of course their time and talent to make loads of masks!

Gabriola Auxiliary:

This is how the kids from Gabriola enjoyed their summer vacation!! Who doesn’t love an Ice-Cream Truck?

Chemainus Auxiliary:

We could not be happier to see the doors of the new ten bed (seven beds opening initially), Cowichan Valley Hospice House open this November. It has been a long and challenging five year journey. The Chemainus Auxiliary has been instrumental through its role with the Cowichan Valley Hospice House Task Force (HHTF) and its longstanding support to the Cowichan Valley Hospice Society (CVHS). Our Auxiliary prioritizes hospice care. We have been told many times that our Auxiliary’s leadership was significant in the project.
With provincial government recognition that the Cowichan Valley was without hospice house services and that the appropriateness and cost of hospice care in a hospital bed did not make sense, it was time to mobilize community partners. CVHS did just that and approached our auxiliary to sit on the HHTF. Following that, we engaged with three other auxiliaries in the Valley, the Auxiliary to the Cowichan District Hospital, the Lake Cowichan Auxiliary and the South Cowichan Auxiliary.
The Chemainus Auxiliary committed to contribute $300,000 over three years to the building project. We were extremely excited to become a significant community funder and to have input to the planning, design, and management of the project with Island Health. There was never doubt in our collective mind that the community could raise the funds and see the hospice house plans to fruition, on time and on budget, and despite COVID19 conditions! The whole Valley is so committed to this project.
The Task Force is immensely proud that we were able to gain the confidence of Island Health which led to a collegial and respectful working group that expedited the process. This model is highly successful and has become an example for Island Health-community initiatives.
I would like to thank two of our members, Marie Hinchsliff and Dawne Grant, for their backup and, our sister auxiliaries in Duncan, Lake Cowichan and South Cowichan along with the now ‘retired’ Cowichan Lodge Auxiliary for all of their support. Together our auxiliaries donated $700,378.14!!

Susan Beaubier
Past President
Chemainus Health Care Auxiliary
Member of the Cowichan Valley Hospice House Task Force

Ladysmith Healthcare Auxiliary:

Here’s how you attract customers to your Thrift Shop.

The Queen was spotted shopping at the Ladysmith Healthcare Auxiliary Thrift Store yesterday. After a successful shopping spree, when asked how she would rate our store, she commented “This store is fit for a Queen”.

Richmond Hospital Healthcare Auxiliary

BCAHA President Diane Thornton met with Ursula, President of The Richmond Hospital Healthcare Auxiliary this summer. Their thrift store is in a church dating back to 1894. They have just finished a major restoration.

Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation

It’s a nice day in Mission for some gardening. An area at Mission Memorial Hospital is getting a little attention from the ladies at Mission Health Care Auxiliary. (The Cottage Thrift Store) Thank you Mission Community Foundation for providing the funds to purchase the plants for this area