Roseway Hospital Auxiliary donates patient ceiling lifts
The donation of four patient ceiling lifts to the Roseway Hospital earlier this year by the Roseway Hospital Auxiliary is being applauded by hospital site manager Jodi Ybarra.
“The ceiling lift is the technology that you want,” said Ybarra in an interview.
“It’s readily available. It’s right there in the patient’s room. It goes lower than the other (portable) lift goes, and it’s got a track system so you can actually take the patient right from the bed right into the chair or bathroom,” said Ybarra. “Because it’s mounted right to the ceiling, it’s also safer. Convenience and safety — any lift like that it is a positive better for the patient and better for the staff with lower risk of injury to both.”
At a cost of almost $40,000, the donation represents “a significant amount of money for a small community group,” said Ybarra, noting the auxiliary wasn’t able to hold the majority of their fundraising events last year due to COVID-19. “But they continue to give. It’s very admirable.”
Auxiliary president Barb Henderson Townsend said the funds to purchase the ceiling lifts were committed before COVID hit and raised through the auxiliary’s regular fundraising efforts at the Nu 2 U Shop, hospital gift shop and the annual Spring Fling.
“COVID has been hard on all of us,” said Townsend. “I just hope we can get back to meeting again and working together again. Just to be together. It’s a wonderful group to belong to. I’m so proud of them all and the accomplishments and the fact that we can donate this kind of equipment to the hospital means a lot.”
Townsend said the auxiliary has been able to reopen the Nu 2 U Shop, which not only supports the auxiliary but also provides a service to the public, offering low-priced items like clothing and housewares that people need and use.
Located adjacent to the hospital, the Nu 2 U Shop is open from 1 to 4 p.m. from Wednesdays to Fridays and 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
“We get good support. The community is very good to us,” said Townsend, adding the Nu 2 U online auction on social media has also been reinstated and is proving to be very successful.
The hospital gift shop hasn’t reopened yet, but the auxiliary is hoping to do that soon.
“We’re using our funds to good advantage,” said Townsend. “Hopefully people will continue to support Nu 2 U and we can go from there.”
Over the past few years, the auxiliary has “made a number of big dollar purchases” to support Roseway Hospital, said Ybarra, including a portable X-ray machine, a point of care diagnostic tool for the emergency room, cardiac monitors and are in the process of purchasing a spirometer unit for the respiratory therapist to use.
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of volunteers than I am of the auxiliary,” said Ybarra. “The amount of work they put into raising their money between Nu 2 U, the gift shop and other fundraisers. They just make such a huge commitment. They’ve done a lot.”