KGH Auxiliary raises more big money

Take just a few steps into the our main lobby and you will soon see the Kingston General Hospital Auxiliary hard at work - brewing coffee and making sandwiches in the café, selling flowers and other pick-me-ups in the Gift Shop, and running the HELPP Lottery ticket cart. And just down the hall, the group also runs the Tuck Shop, Lottery Booth and Hair Salon.

The aim of all this activity is to raise big money to support outstanding patient care at KGH and once again, the Auxiliary has delivered. The group just cut another big cheque to KGH worth $527,750.

"It feels great to be able to hand the hospital a big donation at the end of every fiscal year," says new Auxiliary President Jenny Raymond. "Our goal is always to help purchase equipment and services that will touch patients and help them have a good experience at our hospital."

With that in mind, deciding what to spend the money on at the end of every fiscal year is often the tricky part. So far this time, the group has chosen to fund the purchase of five ECG machines that monitor the hearts of patients, as well three trauma beds for our emergency department. This leaves about $350,000 that will soon be dedicated to purchasing something else from the KGH capital list.

"Every year the Auxiliary steps up and supports KGH in new and important ways," says Jim Flett, Chief Operating Officer. "We can't thank the Auxiliary volunteers and staff enough for the work they do to help us provide cutting-edge medical care."

Along with its ongoing businesses, the Auxiliary also holds several special events each year to raise money, including the annual Teddy Bear campaign, Auxiliary Golf Tournament and its holiday Harvest Bazaar. Last year for example, the Teddy Bear campaign raised about $20,000 which went towards purchasing a special piece of equipment for our pediatrics unit. This year's golf tournament held last month also raised about $27,000 to buy a dialysis machine for the renal unit. The Auxiliary also regularly donates to departments across the hospital, such as our Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence unit, the Social Work Patient Fund and the Mental Health unit. It also purchases water for patients undergoing chemotherapy in our Cancer Centre.

"We all enjoy our role here at KGH. This is our way of giving back to our hospital and to our community," says Raymond. If you are interested in knowing more about the KGH Auxiliary, contact their office at 613-549-6666 ext. 6352.