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Brockville General Hospital |
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News Release |
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Healthy People ~ Outstanding Care NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE For release August 19, 2009 *2 photos attached *
Brockville General Volunteers celebrate 120 years of service
LYN – For the past 120 years, volunteers have made a vital difference in the lives of patients at Brockville General Hospital. Brockville General Volunteer Association members and dignitaries – including MP Gord Brown and MPP Bob Runciman – gathered at the Robb Farm in Lyn on Wednesday, Aug. 19 for a garden party to mark the organization’s 120th anniversary. “This anniversary marks 120 continuous years of community volunteering, which represents thousands of people and millions of hours of service at the hospital,” remarked Association President Maureen Overy. Mr. Runciman presented special certificates from his office and from Premier Dalton McGuinty to congratulate the BGVA. “One hundred and twenty years of volunteer service to our region and community is something to celebrate,” added MPP Bob Runciman. “We want to thank you for that great service.” “Volunteers are an important part of our community, and none are more important than Brockville General Hospital’s,” remarked Mr. Brown. Brockville Mayor David Henderson and Elizabethtown-Kitley Mayor Jim Pickard both praised the crowd of about 100 volunteers for the personal warmth they bring to the hospital. On behalf of the BGH Board of Governors, Internal Vice-Chair Norman Miller formally thanked the volunteers for the “amazing, special job ” they have done over the past 120 years, and Brockville and District Hospital Foundation Chairman Kevin Tackaberry also thanked the group. BGH President and CEO Ray Marshall made a special toast to recognize the achievement. “The volunteers have made a significant contribution at Brockville General Hospital,” Mr. Marshall commented. “We would like to thank the BGVA volunteers for helping us in our mission of providing outstanding care to the people of Leeds-Grenville.” Currently, there are 240 active BGVA members at Brockville General Hospital who help in many ways: Volunteers greet and direct patients and visitors at the main entrance, wheel patients out after Day Surgery, sell items at the Wagon Gift Shops, serve coffee at Eleanor’s Café, sew and repair items, assist with Spiritual Care, cut and set patients’ hair – and govern the hospital as Board members. The Association, formerly named the Auxiliary, was founded in 1889, when the volunteers’ role was markedly different than it is today. “In 1889, every week, two ladies would inspect the hospital to make sure the staff was operating efficiently and the hospital was being run efficiently,” Mrs. Overy said. “The Auxiliary members were quite often responsible for finding food to feed the patients and they would bring in the linens.” Today, the volunteers help make patients comfortable during their hospital stays and raise funds to buy hospital equipment. “I’d like to see us continue to grow and to continue to support the hospital in any way we can,” said Mrs. Overy. Brockville General Volunteer Association Milestones
Milestones: Research by Charlie Boyle, former Secretary to BGH Board of Governors. -30-
MP Gord Brown presents a certificate to Brockville General Volunteer Association President Maureen Overy at the BGVA’s 120th Anniversary celebration on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Brockville General Volunteer Association member Marg Alexander, left, Honourary President Renate Lexmond and Volunteer Coordinator Christine Deault celebrate at the BGVA’s 120th Anniversary Garden Party in Lyn on Wednesday, Aug. 19. More than 100 people attended the event, including MP Gord Brown and MPP Bob Runciman. For more information, please contact:
Christine Endicott Healthy People ~ Outstanding Care
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