Getting kidney dialysis is a long and exhausting process, with patients stuck in a chair for up to four hours three times a week.
Mel Yagos knows. He has been a regular patient at the Westlock Healthcare Centre’s dialysis unit since January. One thing he and other patients noted was the old televisions were blurry, had no colour gave off a lot of heat and were more of a pain to look at than the wall.
So in May, he went to the Westlock Elks.
“I thought about a couple of the service groups in town and I thought right away that Pat Rufiange and I had been friends for probably 50 years, so I figured that was my best bet.”
As Elks secretary Rufiange immediately set to work, first getting approval for the $3,000 expense from the organization and buying them.
“Pat took it into his hands, and he got the best TVs that are out there. The patients are happy and the staff are happy. I’ve got to give a lot of accolades to the Westlock Elks club, especially Pat for all the work he’s put into this.”
In the end, Rufiange managed to find six industrial-grade TVs that don’t give off heat and are able to stay on for hours at a time. When put on standby, they are very energy efficient, saving the hospital money in electricity costs too.
“The mission of our Elks is to help our community,” Rufiange said. “So we went for it immediately.”
The televisions have been in operation for about three months now and have gotten a great deal of use.
Unit manager Manuela Felsberg thanked the Elks for their generosity.
“Having televisions in the unit brings comfort to our patients as they can pass the time and enjoy their favorite programs during the hours-long procedures,” she said. “The Westlock Elks’ kind gift is making a difference in the lives of our patients.”
For his part, Rufiange said the thanks belongs to the folks who attend the Elks’ Monday night bingos.
“All the money we give out to charities clubs comes from bingo,” he said. “I’ve also got to thank the maintenance crew for putting the time in on Sundays. They came on their own time to get the TVs hooked up.”
