Waldo Scott is one of the many Auxiliary volunteers who staff the reception desk and provide patient services in a variety of ways. The Auxiliary recently presented Community Memorial Hospital with a check for $20,000 toward a $60,000 pledge to furnish the Hamilton Family Health Center.

The Community Memorial Hospital Auxiliary presented Hospital President and CEO David W. Felton with a check for $20,000 at its annual meeting January 21. The gift is the first installment of a $60,000 pledge toward furnishings for the Hamilton Family Health Center.

The Auxiliary, which was established shortly after Community Memorial Hospital opened in 1952, is dedicated to providing additional value to the healthcare services, paying special attention to making a patient’s experience just that much better.

To achieve that goal the Auxiliary members give hours of volunteer service and the organization holds numerous events throughout the year to benefit the hospital and its patients.

Auxiliary members sew Boo-Boo Bears for children requiring hospital services, staff the Community Memorial reception desk, run the gift shop, stock vending machines and make sure there is a lively selection of books and magazines to help patients pass the time.

Many Auxiliary events have become seasonal traditions. The Eggstravanganza is an eagerly anticipated spring fundraiser sponsored by Cazenovia Jewelry Store in Hamilton, the Fourth of July Hot Dog Booth is a great place for lunch on that busy day and the Holiday Sale and Café the first Saturday of December is a calendar highlight. The talents and untold hours of devotion of several area artists, crafters and bakers are on display and mark a joyous kick off to the holiday season.

Also important are the annual Auxiliary Appeal (the former Membership Drive) that seeks support from all of the 27 communities served by the hospital and the reception held each fall for new physicians who have joined the medical staff.

“These events happen year in and year out, for better than 50 years now,” says Auxiliary President Susie Gustafson. “They have happened through times of sickness and health, war and peace, whether times are good or bad, happy or sad. They happen regardless of who’s in charge or who’s not. They happen because the men and women who are such an important part of this greater medical community’s life force, our own Auxiliary, understand what it is to live simply but act grandly.” The aim of this service and all these events is to benefit patients and that was the aim when Auxiliary Treasurer Leslie Lollman presented Felton with the check.

“The support of the Auxiliary, in ways large and small, is invaluable,” said the Hospital President upon accepting the gift. “The Auxiliary is always willing to work on behalf of our patients and that is vital as we provide quality healthcare close to home.”