In the world of health care praise is often heaped on the front-line workers like doctors and nurses who make such a significant difference in patients’ lives.
But there’s another group that works diligently to improve the lives of patients in the Westlock hospital that sometimes flies under the radar.
The Westlock Healthcare Auxiliary Society has been operating in one form or another since the first hospital opened in Westlock in 1927, and currently raises money for both the hospital and long-term care centre.
“We’re all volunteers,” president Helen Haas said. “Our mandate is the care and comfort of patients and residents.”
The Sisters of Charity opened the Immaculata Hospital in 1927, and two years later the Immaculata Hospital Ladies’ Auxiliary formed.
The group changed its name on the hospital’s 50th anniversary to be the Westlock Hospital Volunteers. Right after the 75th anniversary in 2004, the name changed again to the Westlock Healthcare Auxiliary Society.
Over the years, the group has raised money with raffles, working casinos, collecting memorial donations, and most importantly, operating the hospital gift shop. It all adds up to a total of more than 7,000 volunteer hours spread among the society’s approximately 30 members.
Haas said in the first 75 years of the society, there was more than $250,000 raised to help meet some of the patients’ medical and non-medical needs. Since 2004, they have raised close to another $300,000. That money has gone to buy medical equipment like a baby monitor, a bariatric bed and scale, and wheelchairs. It has also provided non-medical supplies like furniture and televisions in the patients’ rooms.
Society member June Krysa said she decided to volunteer because she saw the good work the society does for residents when a family member moved into the long-term care centre. So after she retired from her teaching job, she decided to sign up.
“After I retired I decided I didn’t want to substitute teach, so somebody invited me to a meeting and I decided to stay,” she said.
For Haas, who spent 30 years working as a nurse in both the Immaculata Hospital and the new hospital, it was a way to continue to make a difference and be a part of the hospital community.
“It’s just to provide a little extra for the patients,” she said.
And the patients certainly seem to appreciate it; some even go out of their way to thank the society members for what they provide. Even something as simple as giving a teddy bear to a child in the emergency room makes an impact.
“There was a little boy, he was about three, and he was crying. When he got that teddy bear he just gave that teddy bear a hug,” Krysa said. “I didn’t think a teddy bear could cheer somebody up so much.”
Anyone interested in getting involved with the society is encouraged to visit the hospital gift shop during the day for more information.
