The St. Joseph’s Healthcare Auxiliary has paid off one project and has already started to pay off another.
The auxiliary presented a cheque for $15,000 to St. Joseph’s Hospital director of support services Mark Pettitt and board chair Don Kindopp during the auxiliary’s annual Christmas tea, bake sale and raffle on Wednesday afternoon. The cheque represents the final payment for the operating room equipment the auxiliary has been fundraising for since 2015.
Included were an operating table, a radiant infant warmer for babies born by C-section, and an equipment cart for use in dental surgeries that require anesthetic.
The auxiliary also presented a cheque for $3,500 for a new refrigerator for the hospital’s laboratory. The auxiliary is now fundraising for other equipment in the lab, including an incubator for microbiology, a complete blood count analyzer and an electrocardiograph machine. The total cost of the refurbishments will be around $87,000 plus tax.
“Once the lab gives us a tour, we’ll have a better understanding of how this equipment operates,” said president Marlene Shurygalo.
Director of support services Mark Pettitt said the laboratory plays an important role in the day to day operations of the hospital.
The auxiliary is paying off the equipment through various fundraisers, donations and the allocation it receives as a United Way Estevan member agency.
