Vision Statement

To be a partner with the

Saint John Regional Hospital

in the delivery

of healthcare.

Mission Statement

Enhance patient care within the

Saint John Regional Hospital

Community through volunteer

activities, fundraising events

and service operations.

Values

We value People working

together to make a diff erence,

while upholding our

Traditions and embracing

Innovation for the future.

How We Work Together

Responsive, caring and adaptive behaviour

Eff ective membership involvementEngaged community

Continuous improvement cultureValues based leadership

It is with great pleasure and with much pride that I write this my fi rst message as your President. I would like to begin by thanking the outgoing members of the Board of Directors, Rosalie Acker (7 yrs.), Anne Burpee (9

yrs.), and Janice O’Connor-George (12 yrs.), for their eff orts and commitment to the Auxiliary. As well, welcome new Board members, Brad Brown, Janice Lavigne and Cassandra Th ériault.

Every building stands upon a carefully laid foundation and as I refl ected on the vision, mission, values and history of the Saint John Regional Hospital Auxiliary I could see similarities – no business or organization can be successful without that same assurance. Our ethos was developed some ninety-three years ago by our forerunners, the ‘Women’s Hospital Aid’ – “to extend aid to ward patients and of assisting in any way possible, the Commissioners and Nurses of the General Public Hospital”. To that early foundation the Auxiliary has been fortunate to build an even stronger foundation by developing a relationship with both our provincial and national associations. Unfortunately our national association, the Canadian Association of Healthcare Auxiliaries, at the 2012 AGM conference passed a motion to begin its dissolution process.

Although the dissolution of our national association brings an end to a 61 year history of working together- we as an organization can be proud of our

contribution. Th rough the years we have provided leadership through Judy MacLeod who has served most recently as 1st Vice President, President, and Past President – fi nancial support and full participation. We have been honoured by having many of our members receive Life Memberships in the association. Th e latest being Marion Hunter, in May of 2012. At this last AGM in Newfoundland we were represented by Judy and Marjorie Milner. Communication at the national level will continue through a blog site– cahaonline.blogspot.com.

Later in May I had the privilege along with Judy MacLeod and Marjorie Milner to attend our provincial association’s (New Brunswick Association of Healthcare Auxiliaries) AGM conference in Fredericton. Marjorie Milner was presented with her Provincial Life Membership. Delegates were truly impressed with her accomplishments within the hospital and her community. Th e 2013 AGM is planned to be a celebration for the community of Miramichi, the theme a “walk down memory lane” will honour the NBAHA’s 50th anniversary. Our Auxiliary will have much to off er to this celebration from our 93 year history.

Our early activities this year, the “People of Infl uence Luncheon” and our “Awards” ceremony certainly refl ect our mission statement. Th e luncheon was attended

by over 400 people and raised $20,000 for the Breast Healthcare Program here at the hospital. Th e Awards ceremony which took place in early June saw the Auxiliary provide $13,500 to seven worthy students.

We have a busy fall lined up as we refl ect on the changing patient population of our hospital and how we might best carry out our role. Th ere is a large population

of elderly patients, many without family, friends

or church affi liation all of which present opportunities for an expanded role for us. We are experiencing a culture change within the hospital and we will need to embrace these changes if we are to continue our service to the hospital and its patients.

On Oct. 4th, many of our members and executives will be attending the

NBAHA Region 2 annual education session in Sussex

- a time to work together to help improve service to that changing hospital population and to share successful fundraising ideas.

As we look to the future and these tough economic times our hospital needs us more than ever and we hope we can count on your support.

In closing, I truly hope you have enjoyed the wonderful weather we have had this summer and I look forward to seeing many of you at our fi rst event this fall, our annual Memorial Service on Nov 13th.

C O M M U N I C A T O R

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Vivian Greene

Mary Losier-RoderickPresident

Katie RogersVice-President

Natasha DoucetPast President

Sue PalmerSecretary

Brad BrownTreasurer

Martha GareyService Operations Chair

Sarah AbrahamJill Jennings

Judy MacLeodMarjorie Milner

Lynn Kearns

Dianne OrmandyJanet Steeves

Cassandra Th eriaultJanice Lavigne

Board of Directors 2011-2012

FALL 2012

Memorial Service 

November 13th 2PM

Saint John Regional Hospital Chapel (RSVP by November 6th)

Reception in cafeteria A&Bto follow.

Building on A FoundationMary Losier-Roderick

Mark your calendar:

SJRHA Memorial Service -- Nov. 13,2 pm at SJRH Chapel

Please RSVP by Nov. 6

93rd Annual Meeting--April 18, 2013, 12 pm at St. Mark’s United Church

The Auxiliary Communicator is printed twice each year. Eleven hundred copies are distributed to the Saint John Regional Hospital Auxiliary membership. Information may be submitted to :

Saint John Regional Hospital Auxiliary, c/o Saint John Regional Hospital, P.O. Box 2100, Saint John, NB E2L 4L2Phone: 648-6292 Fax: 648-6291 email: auxil@reg2.health.nb.ca

“Destiny is not necessarily what we get out of life, but rather, what

we give.”Cary Grant

All it takes is 3 hours a week to make a difference in the lives of our patients, their families and to provide support to our staff.Auxiliary Members:If you have moved or your contact information has changed please call Alida at 648-6523 to provide us with the changes. This will help to keep the Auxiliary files up to date!!

Attention Auxiliary MembersIf you have moved or if your contact information has changed please call Alida 648-6523 to provide her with the changes. This will help to keep the Auxiliary Files up to date!!

E-Mail Addresses NeededWe are compiling a list of all volunteers’ e-mail addresses who would like to receive the most up to date information on what is happening such as upcoming training, special events and opportunities open to volunteers, auxiliary and alumnae members. Please e-mail Alida at: alida.masten@horizonnb.ca to have your e-mail added to the list.

Committee UpdatesAwards Committee Katie Rogers

The purpose of the Auxiliary Education Awards program has from its beginning been to honour student achievement and volunteerism. This year the total dollar amount of the awards increased from $12,000 to $13,500. Seven very deserving students from the Greater Saint John Area were the recipients of those awards and were formally presented with their awards at a reception held in the hospital light court on June 21st. Four Auxiliary Awards were presented to individuals attaining a high academic achievement while pursuing a post secondary education in the health care field. Three Volunteer Awards were presented to individuals in recognition of their volunteer service at the Saint John Regional Hospital The 2012 recipients were:

Auxiliary Awards:

Elizabeth Reed

Katelyn Comeau

Caitlyn Carpenter

Suzanne Taylor

Student Volunteer Awards:

Janette Debly – Peggy Bulmer Award

Kendra Belding – Teresa Casey Award

Emma Crowley – Dr. Deborah Mitton Award

Membership Committee Jill Jennings

Volunteers are the heart and soul of our auxiliary. Awarding Life Memberships to Board Members and Volunteers is one of the ways we recognize our Auxilians for outstanding service. In 2012 the following members were recognized for their years of service:

SJRHA Life Membership--Natasha Doucet NBAHA Life Membership--Marjorie Milner

Archives Committee Dianne Ormandy

The Archives Committee continues to work to properly preserve and store our historical items. We have a designated, environmentally appropriate space at the Museum for our photographs, documents, event programs and more. The work of this on-going task will ensure that our history is preserved, protected and accessible to anyone who may wish to see it.

It is not too late, so if you have photos, programs or other documents that you would like to donate to our Archival Project, properly identify and drop off to the Auxiliary Office, 2nd floor of the Saint John Regional Hospital, or call the Office at 648-6292 for enquiries and more information.

Patient Programs Committee Judy MacLeod

We have had a busy summer. We recorded 3515 knitting hours and have made it through the summer with tops for our new babies. We still are in a very tight position and need the tops badly. We have approached the auxiliaries in Charlotte County, St. Joseph’s in Saint John and Sussex asking that they help us with the knitting because we deliver almost all the babies from St. Stephen to Sussex at the Regional. The response has been wonderful. They are very willing to help us. This will help us ensure that we will have adequate numbers of tops.

We seem to be well supplied with toe socks and the chemo hats are looked after for a good period of time.

We have been asked to make sacks for the monitors in Cardiac Care so need sewers to help us here. The ENT Clinic has asked for crocheted covers for the patients who have permanent tracheotomies. We have patterns for both requests.

The ER has asked us to provide little toys for the children who are waiting in their department. We are looking into this with them and will support their request.

Volunteer Services has asked if we could provide emergency clothing for patients whose clothing is not suitable to wear

home after discharge. We will purchase the initial items – pants and tops and underwear – and Volunteer Services will follow up in the future. We have always given them money to use for patients in need and this is part of that donation.

We will finalize our Christmas gift program for the patients who otherwise would not receive anything to open Christmas Day. We will distribute the gifts to patients on December 21, 2012.

Thank you to all our knitters, sewers and crocheters. We could not provide all these items without your help.

Service Operations Committee Martha Garey

Through the summer months (July, August, September) sales of $//were /% below 2011 sales, however, our net profit remains strong at about the same as last year.

As always, we ask you remember our Gift Shops for all of your shopping needs. Come and get a jump start on your holiday shopping. Essentials, Trinkets & Treasures, and Stylin’ Scrubs are full of wonderful new product lines and are ready with great staff to help you find that perfect gift, or a little

something for yourself.

If you have internet you can visit us online at www.sjrha.ca, www.twitter.com, & www.facebook.com.

Interesting times…Maybe?

Executive DirectorJust this weekend my wife, Cathy and I were visiting her mom as we have done most weekends for the past four years after her dad moved to a nursing home. While the two of them discussed plans for the day, which of course included a visit with my father in-law, (I am usually left out of the planning and just go along for the ride) I picked up a recent copy of The New Brunswick Anglican that was strategically placed for me to see.

I actually read a couple of articles from which I grabbed some content for this message. The two articles “Interesting times by the rivers” and “Living in the time of maybe” both dealt with a truth – times are changing. Dealing with the challenges, the loss of familiarity, of stability that come from change generally do demand more from us than uninteresting or more stable times.

With the recent news of the official winding down of our national association, the Canadian Association

of Health Care Auxiliaries, we must not be unlike Bishop John Medley and his contemporaries in the 19th century, or might I suggest Mrs. A.C. Skelton and her contemporaries in 1919, both saw they were living in interesting times. For Mrs. Skelton, her actions laid the foundation for what the Saint John Regional Hospital Auxiliary is today.

Maybe, just maybe, we are living in a time of Maybe! While many will outwardly acknowledge we need to change, many will feel a sense of the old passing away.

As we ask of ourselves, “how do we remain relevant for our hospital as it confronts the challenges of healthcare delivery in this day”, maybe it is time again to call on the spirit displayed by Bishop Medley and Mrs. Skelton.

So let us not mourn long for the passing of our national association, let’s move forward and make those who built our foundation proud of what comes next. Don’t be like me on those Saturdays and just go along for the ride. Maybe, just maybe, we are living in interesting times!

Volunteer News 2012

Discover the Value…….VolunteerThis one line can mean so many different things, each unique to the individual.

• Discover the value you bring to a patient’s day• Discover the value you get personally from giving back to your community• Discover the value you get through personal growth and experience• Discover the value you bring to enhancing patient care• Discover the value you bring by volunteering

The volunteer department had a busy summer with over 90 High School and University students volunteering their time. The students volunteered in a wide range of programs such as; the Auxiliary Gift Shop, Plant Care, Recreation, Patient Escort, Coffee Cart, Pediatrics, Emergency, Library Cart and special assignments just to name a few.

The fall is quickly approaching and we are gearing up for our next recruitment phase. Also we are so pleased to see the many faces of our volunteers coming back after taking time off during the summer.

Current Volunteer Opportunities include:

• Gift Shop• Plant Care• Friendly Visitors