Members of the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary will play host to other auxiliary members from across the region this spring when Region 12 East and West come together for their bi-annual conference.
Joan Mudge, chairman of the Hospital Auxiliaries Association of Ontario (HAAO) Region 12 West, noted it’s a time when the members get together and take care of particular issues at hand.
“It’s a chance for us to have roundtable discussions and to get to know each other,” she indicated.
The conference will be held April 11-12 at La Place Rendez-Vous.
Mudge noted there will be a banquet on the Friday night, likely along with local entertainment, while Saturday will see presentations by several guest speakers and the business meetings.
Guest speakers will be announced once they are confirmed. But it already is known that the provincial president, Joan Babij, will be attending.
Mudge added they are hoping for a good turnout for the conference, expecting at least 75 auxiliary members hailing from Thunder Bay, Kenora, Rainy River, and Red Lake and points in between.
“We’ve had buses coming in from [Region] 12 East in the past, which we’re also expecting for this year,” she remarked.
Mudge also noted she hopes many of the local auxiliary members come out.
“It’s right here in our town,” she stressed, noting there are more than 200 members of the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary, although not all are active members.
The joint Region 12 conference is not open to the public but anyone interested is able to easily purchase an auxiliary membership, which would enable them access to the event.
Memberships can be purchased for $5 annually at the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary gift shop.
The president of the group is Wilf Sanders, whose term of office will be over in June.
Mudge explained the benefit to becoming a member of a hospital auxiliary is mostly personal.
“They get out there. They’re doing something for someone else,” she noted. “They’re feeling good about themselves and that’s the big thing.”
She added auxiliary members often are seen in the hospital gift shop or taking the cart around to different wards and departments.
“We’re doing it for the people in our town and in the district because we offer services at La Verendrye that aren’t available, say, in Emo or Rainy River.
“We feel we’ve got a good cause,” she stressed.
Mudge said the local communities became partnered with those in the Thunder Bay area after not wanting to be known as the 13th region.
She explained Ontario is divided into 13 regions of hospital auxiliaries and instead of being known as Region 13, they became Region 12 West. And they meet bi-annually at a joint conference.
“People should put it on their calendars because it’ll sneak up on us,” Mudge warned. “It would be great to get at least as many local people as will be coming from Region 12 East.
“It’s going to be a lot of work, but a lot of fun,” she added.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
