On Monday, July 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the hospital’s Education Center, Phyllis Havens, MS, RD, LSW, CDE, a nutrition therapist and diabetes educator, will give a free presentation, “The experience of mindful eating.” She will talk about the difference between mindful and mindless eating.

The presentation is free but space is limited. To register, call Hester Kohl, health educator, at 930-2514 or email her at hkohl@wcgh.org.

The Waldo County General Hospital Aid’s 23rd Annual Garden Walk will be on Friday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. featuring several lovely gardens in Belfast and Northport, rain or shine. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Hospital Aid Gift Shop with a list of the gardens and a map.

A beautiful quilted coverlet, made by Barbara Biscone, will be raffled off at the walk. Tickets will also be sold in the gift shop.

The Journey to Health program at Waldo County General Hospital is starting a new way to get exercise this summer. Each Saturday, beginning June 1 and running through Oct. 5, there will be a guided walk somewhere in Waldo County from 10 a.m. to noon.

You can find out more about the weekly hikes by signing up for the Journey to Health email list and newsletter at www.wcgh.org or by calling Sumer Higgins at 338-9359.

According to WebMD, weight loss is only one benefit of a walking program. Regular walking helps lower cholesterol, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, increases bone strength, and improves circulation.

The scheduled walks are:

Jun. 1           Passy Greenway City of Belfast Trail

Jun. 8          Stover Preserve, Belfast

Jun. 15         Fernald’s Neck, Lincolnville

Jun. 22        Jetty Road, Sears Island

Jun. 29        Little River Trail, Belfast (from water district)

Jul. 13          Haystack Mountain, Liberty

Jul. 20         Northern Pond, Monroe

Jul. 27         River Trail Tanglewood, Lincolnville

Aug. 3          Little River Trail, Belfast (from Walsh Field)

Aug. 10        Laffin Road, Mt. Waldo, Frankfort

Aug. 17        Bog Brook Trail, Montville

Aug. 24       Purple Trail, Mt. Waldo, Frankfort

Sept. 14       Northern Headwaters Trail, Montville

Sept. 21       Conner Mill Trail, Unity

Sept. 28      Tanglewood Trail, Lincolnville

Oct. 5          Unity Park Loop, Unity

Shown with their awards are, front row from left, Page Dilts, Chris Harrington, Roxie Whitney, Wanda Moody, Erika Young, Brenda Smith and Perley Martin, RSU 20 Food Service Director. In the second row, from left, are EBS and Nickerson principal Abbie Hartford, CASS principal Jody Henderson, Debbie Mitchell, Cindy Boguen, Rhonda Bishop Wood and Sue Black. In the back row from left are Angela Wight of Maine Child Nutrition department, Linda Hartkopf, Ames principal Laura Miller, Northport principal Sandy Flacke, Rhonda Kinney, and Thierry Bonneville of the RSU 20 Health Kids parents’ group.

Five elementary schools in RSU 20 have been awarded national recognition for their efforts to improve school meals and overall wellness among their students and staff. Only 5 percent of schools in the United States have achieved this award.

Receiving a bronze award from HealthierUS School Challenge were the Ames School in Searsmont, Belfast Area High School, Captain Albert Stevens School in Belfast, East Belfast School, and Drinkwater Elementary School in Northport.

To earn this award, a school must serve healthy meals, teach nutrition education taught in all grade levels and encourage physical activity. Physical education has to include at least 45 minutes a week. There must also be a wellness policy, which states that physical activity is neither denied nor required as a means of punishment, and use of food as a reward is prohibited.

Honored June 3 were the principals, wellness champions and food service personnel from the five schools, along with Linda Hartkopf, the school health coordinator, a position funded by Waldo County General Hospital; Perley Martin, RSU Food Service Director; Healthy Waldo County, Let’s Go! Waldo 5210 and the RSU 20 Healthy Kids parents’ group. With the bronze award, each of the schools received $500 for their nutrition program.

Hartkopf said the goal for next year will be to have the entire district earn a silver or bronze award.

The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) is designed to improve the health of the nation’s children by promoting healthier school environments.

   The 2013 Nurse and CNA Excellence Awards were handed out during Nurses Week at Waldo County General Hospital. The nurse excellence award was won by Sandra Weagle RN, while Taylor Garcelon took the CNA award.

Sandra Weagle RN won the 2013 Nurse Excellence Award. Making the presentation was Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN.

   Weagle, who works in the Emergency Department, has been with the hospital for 22 years, while Garcelon is in her third year and works on the patient floor.

The 2013 CNA Excellence Award winner was Taylor Garcelon CNA, shown here with Director Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN.

   In announcing the 2013 Nurse Excellence Award winner, Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN, said of Weagle: “(She) was nominated by a peer who recognizes her as setting high standards for patient care and professionalism. She is seen as a valued colleague who serves as a good resource for others and as a leader who helps keep the patient flow moving smoothly and calmly…

   “She consistently puts the patient’s safety and comfort at the top of her list of priorities. She quickly responds to special needs for equipment or services, such as requesting social work assistance, to meet the patient’s requirements beyond the obvious medical needs…

   “She is a steady force in a fast-paced area providing everyone with calm, competent direction,” Young-Hise concluded.

   On the nomination form, Weagle’s colleague also wrote: “She not only performs the mandatory year-to-year training within the department of education and skills, but maintains the Advanced Care Certificate recommended. She has obtained and maintained her certification as a CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse) and exceeds even that goal by serving as president of the ENA (Emergency Nurses Association) in a nationwide capacity.”

   In making the announcement of the CNA Excellence Award winner, Young-Hise said of Garcelon: “(She) is described as a natural leader with a warm and intuitive approach that immediately puts her patients at ease. She is noted for her strong teamwork and for her collaboration with the nursing staff, consistently keeping them apprised of any changes in vital signs or in the patient’s condition…

   “Patient safety and comfort is her mission. She consistently discusses her patients with the nursing team to be sure that their safety and care needs are met,” said Young-Hise.

   The nurse, who nominated Garcelon for the award, wrote, “(She) brings her ‘A game’ regardless of what may be happening in her life. I have stood outside a patient’s door donning isolation garb and can hear Taylor inside the room calming a patient, laughing with a patient or settling down a patient…”

   Garcelon also serves in various committees at the hospital. She is described as eager to implement new ideas and remains upbeat with change.

Finalists for the Nurse Excellence Award were, back row from left, Sandra Weagle RN, Krystal Brouty RN, and Cate Bryant RN. In front are Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise and finalist Patty Trask RN.

   The other nominees for the 2013 Nurse Excellence Award were Krystal Brouty RN, who works in the Women and Infant Health Care Unit; Cate Bryant RN, who works in the Intensive Care Unit: and Patty Trask RN, who works on the patient floor.

Nominated for the CNA Excellence Award were, back row from left, Jennifer Larrabee CNA, Taylor Garcelon CNA, Pam Ripley CNA, and Stella Littlefield CNA. In the front row, are Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN, and nominees Diana Hills CNA, and Janice Boetsch CNA.

Nominated for the 2013 CNA Excellence Award were Janice Boetsch CNA, and Pam Ripley CNA, who both work on the patient floor; Diana Hills CNA in the procedure room; Jennifer Larrabee CNA in cardiac rehab; and Stella Littlefield CNA in the emergency department.

   The criteria for the awards are:

   •  demonstration of leadership at the bedside;

   •  commitment to professional development; and

   •  dedication to high quality, safe patient and family-centered care.

   This is the second year that Waldo County General Hospital has made the Nurse and CNA Excellence Awards. The winners last year were Carol Knight, LPN, and Cheryl Lucas, CNA.

Longtime columnist Ellen Goodman says of her mother, “We talked about everything except one thing: how she wanted to live at the end of her life…

In my mom’s last years of life, she was no longer able to decide what she wanted for dinner, let alone what she wanted for medical treatment. So the decisions fell to me. Another bone marrow biopsy? A spinal tap? Pain treatment? Antibiotics? I was faced with cascading decisions for which I was wholly unprepared…
 

The last thing my mom would have wanted was to force me into such bewildering, painful uncertainty about her life and death. I realized only after her death how much easier it would have all been if I heard her voice in my ear as these decisions had to be made…”

That experience led Goodman to co-found The Conversation Project, which is designed to help people have “the conversation.”  Eighty-two percent of people say it’s important to put their wishes in writing and yet only 23 percent have actually done it.

You may have strong opinions on whether you would want a doctor to hook you up to a breathing machine or insert a feeding tube. Or if your heart stops, you know if you  want to be resuscitated. You know if quality of life is more important to you than the quantity.

These are tough, but important, questions. Having a conversation about what matters most to you and your loved ones and then putting your wishes in writing is important. But far too few people do it before it’s too late and their families have to make the tough decisions on their own.

Sixty percent of people say that making sure their family is not burdened by tough decisions is “extremely important,” and yet, 56 percent admit that they have not communicated their end-of-life wishes.

While it’s important to put your wishes in writing, it’s also critical to designate a health care agent in the event you cannot communicate yourself.

Dr. Jim Stevenson talks about a case he had in which a middle-aged man with advanced lung cancer was brought into the emergency room following an accident. The man was unresponsive, but clearly in pain, and it took three or four days to identify a decision maker to determine what the patient would want for life-sustaining treatment.

Increasing the number of Advance Directives (a document in which you put your wishes in writing and designate a health care agent) executed by individuals 65 years and older is a stated goal for Waldo County General Hospital during 2013. The plan is to accomplish this through the hospital’s employed primary care doctors’ offices and at the five health centers.

To help with this goal, the hospital is offering a number of presentations to hospital personnel, Hospital Aid and Hospice volunteers, and the community through a presentation on the local cable station, access at Health Fairs and community classes, and placing Advanced Directive packets at nursing homes, Spectrum Generations, the local Agency on Aging and on the hospital’s website.

Dr. David Giansiracusa, who specializes in Hospice Care and palliative medicine, talks to WCGH staff about Advance Directives.

On April 23, Dr. David Giansiracusa, a physician in Portland, who specializes in Hospice Care and Palliative Medicine, did a presentation on Advance Directives for medical staff and other interested parties at the hospital. He said Advance Directives are important so doctors know what to do when a patient is unable to express his or her wishes. And based on the incident at the Boston Marathon, “everyone is vulnerable to being unable suddenly to express his or her wishes,” he added.

Giansiracusa said Advance Directives “prevent a huge amount of suffering,” adding, “It is difficult to care for a patient whose wishes are not known and it creates conflicts within the medical staff and within the family. The family has to live with uncertainty.”

He said advance care planning helps the health care agent understand the values and beliefs of the patient, which provides a foundation for making decisions. Advance care planning is “preparing for the in-the-moment medical decisions” that often need to be made, he said.

“If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones,” Giansiracusa said. He said visiting The Conversation Project website is a good way to get the conversation started. And the decisions that are made should be shared with all involved “to decrease confusion and conflict and to provide peace of mind to the patient and his or her family.”

He said advance care planning should be a routine part of medical care for a primary care provider. “I think it is equally important as allergies and medications list,” he said, adding he thinks primary care providers should be asking their patients “what type of life would be intolerable.” And there should be notes in the patient’s medical record about the discussion.

So no matter what your age, if you are interested in making your wishes known and having them carried out, ask your primary care provider about completing an Advance Directive packet and providing a copy to your doctor, the hospital, with your health care agent, and at your home.

Mary Ann Dyer RN and Sharon Curtis RN are the nurses helping patients through telegenic counseling.

Waldo County General Hospital was selected as one of two sites in the state to pilot telegenetic services videoconferencing with Maine Medical Center’s cancer genetic specialists. The service is funded in part by a Maine Cancer Foundation grant awarded to Maine Health. Now in its third month, four Waldo County residents referred by their primary care providers have received cancer telegenetic services.

The telegenetic services at  Waldo County General Hospital include all cancers that have genetic risks, such as breast, colon, pancreatic, kidney, melanoma (skin), and others.

The Waldo County General Hospital team members include Ann Hooper, the hospital’s Imaging Manager who oversees the program, Kim Lenfestey, the patient navigator, Mary Ann Dyer, RN and Sharon Curtis, RN. The genetic specialists at Maine Medical Center include Amanda Lamb, ScM, a board-certified genetic counselor, and Dr. Susan Miesfeldt, a medical oncologist.

Karen Kelley of Searsport was the first person to take advantage of the new telegenetic services at Waldo County General Hospital. On her birthday last December, an abnormality was detected in one of Karen’s breasts. The Friday before Christmas she had a biopsy. When she received a call the next week asking her to come to the hospital, she expected to be told that she had breast cancer. She was correct. Karen feels lucky that her cancer was found early. She had a lumpectomy in January and then 33 sessions of radiation in Brewer. Now she is taking an oral treatment for five years.

During her treatments, Karen was able to maintain her counseling practice and her normal activities, including skiing. “I had to keep being Karen,” she explains. “My attitude was that I was going to keep moving forward…I am grateful that I didn’t have many side effects.”

Telegenetics was recommended to Karen because of her family history of cancer. Karen’s mother and grandmother both were diagnosed with breast cancer. Karen says it was really interesting to begin genetic counseling. She was asked to fill out a family health history form, including the causes and ages of family members’cancer diagnoses and deaths. “It really opened my eyes about how inclusive cancer can be,” she says. Her grandmother died fighting her second diagnosis; her mother has been cancer-free for seven years.

Six years ago, a close relative with a history of breast cancer underwent BRCA1 and 2 genetic testing.  These genes are known to increase the chances of getting breast cancer and other types of cancer. Her relative’s genetic test was negative. Karen still expected she would be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime, because she is convinced that this disease runs in her family.

Now there’s another BRCA1 and 2 test, BART, that sometimes catches genetic defects that the original test missed; Karen’s relative will have BART. If this test is positive, Karen says she will also have the testing. She knows that this information will allow her to be proactive in her health. It will also direct her generation and the next to make decisions about genetic counseling and testing and preventive care.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer and have a family history of it, talk with your primary care provider about whether genetic counseling might be right for you.

The gazebo at Penobscot Shores provides a shaded seating area near the ocean on the Hospital Aid’s garden walk. (WCGH photo)

The 23^rd annual Garden Walk sponsored by the Hospital Aid of Waldo County General Hospital will be held on Friday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are $15 each with all proceeds benefiting the hospital. A map is included with the ticket for this self-guided tour.

This year’s walk includes six gardens in Belfast and Northport. The gardens can be visited in any order. Aid members volunteer as hosts in each garden and refreshments are served.

The Ladd-Spears garden, at Head of Tide, was created on family property 10 years ago when the house was built. Perennials, vegetables and herbs surround the house, a garden room, pergola and tool shed. There are many seating areas among the natural features of large rocks and pine trees. A circular path of grass and wood chips can be followed to a pond fed by a natural spring for those able to walk on uneven terrain.

The garden room at the Ladd-Spears garden provides inside seating for a break on the Waldo County General Hospital Aid’s annual garden walk on Friday, July 12. Tickets are available at the hospital. For more information, call 930-6739.

The tour continues in Belfast with the Krueger garden on Durham Street. This in-town garden is full of perennials behind an ornamental fence. Paths surrounding the house lead to a back patio and vegetables grown in cold frames. A rustic garden shed and bird houses add a note of whimsy.

Penobscot Shores, an independent living community, is the next participant of the tour. At the Ocean House, one can view the floral gardens in a circular drive, step inside for a tour of two apartments and have refreshments. A handmade coverlet of floral and bird design fabrics was recently made and donated to the Aid by Barbara Biscone. The quilt will be displayed at the Ocean House where people can buy raffle tickets.

Continuing along Shoreland Drive, three families, the Gilbertsons, the Hauswalds and the Barnes families, are displaying their ocean-front cottage gardens. The owners have created small sanctuaries for birds, butterflies and peaceful views of the ocean. The Barnes cottage will be open for an inside tour as well. Between the cottages is a path to the ocean that includes a gazebo with seating. You are welcome to bring a lunch.

The two remaining gardens are in Northport on Bayside Road. The Garber/Holland/Scala garden is at the site of a former church. Three resident gardeners have turned the lawn into raised vegetable and flower beds and added fruit trees and bushes. They hope to raise all of their own produce. The backyard has a small pond and chicken coop.

The Beiser garden accompanies a newer house built on family land. The house is surrounded by herbs, perennials and pear trees. Raised beds of vegetables are started in the winter under a plastic canopy. Fruit bushes include raspberries, black raspberries and lingonberries. Various compost systems are used in the back. You can walk across the street to see peach and apple trees on family property. A bonus for the more adventuresome is a walk down a dirt road onto a tiered walkway that slopes to the ocean.

Tickets for the garden walk are available at Brambles garden shop, Left Bank Books and the Waldo County General Hospital gift shop, all in Belfast, and also in any of the gardens on the day of the walk. Plan to join the hospital volunteers for this affordable family event, which is the Aid’s largest fundraiser of the year. For further information, please call Wilma at 338-2785 or Sandra at 930-6739 or e-mail: sgordon@wcgh.org.

The 23rd annual Hospital Aid Garden Walk attracted more than 130 participants and raised $2,005. A homemade coverlet created by Barbara Biscone garnered $187 in a raffle. The quilt was won by Lindsay Moore RN. All proceeds from Aid activities are donated to Waldo County General Hospital.

Waldo County General Hospital’s Journey to Health program again this summer has been sponsoring sea kayaking for beginners. Here is your opportunity to see Belfast from the bay! Among the remaining trips are two 75-minute trips on Aug. 27. There will be trips at 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. and 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. The cost is $20 per paddler. There are some scholarships available. On Aug. 13, the trip will be to Bayside from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The cost of the 2.5-hour trip is $30 per paddler and again there are some scholarships available. Pre-registration is required.

 
For more information or to register, call Sumer Higgins at 338-9359 or email: shiggins@wcgh.org with your name, preferred day and time and the number in your party. Children are welcome. You can ask about scholarship availability when you register.

The hospital was well represented at the recent annual meeting of the Belfast Rotary Club.

Mark Biscone and Andrea Walker

Andrea Walker, Community Services Manager, was awarded the club’s Paul Harris Fellow for her “Service Above Self” to the club. Making the presentation was Mark Biscone, Executive Director of the hospital and chairman of the Paul Harris Fellow Committee.

Lee Woodward

Lee Woodward, chairman of the hospital’s Board of Directors, was named Rotarian of the year.

Lois and Greg Dutch

And Lois Dutch of the Education Office was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow by her husband, Greg Dutch, who was the outgoing president of the club.

   On June 29, Waldo County General Hospital cut the ribbon for Waldo County Dental Care (located on the first floor of 125 Northport Ave. the new building across the street from the hospital).

Cutting the ribbon for Waldo County Dental Care were, from left, Michelle Gallant, Registered Dental Hygienist; Belfast Public Health Nurse Shannon Robbins; Dale Kuhnert, Waldo County Healthcare Board of Directors; and Dr. Allison Piper, a dentist practicing with Dr. John Slaughter of Belfast. Kuhnert told the crowd at the ribbon cutting that this is probably the only dental care office with a hospital employed hygienist in the state.

   This facility will provide dental care to qualified individuals in need. And we believe the need is great.

Among the key participants in getting Waldo County Dental Care off the ground were local dentists Dr. John Slaughter and Dr. Allison Piper, far left, hygienist Michelle Gallant RH, fifth from left, and sixth from left, Shannon Robbins RN, Belfast Public Health Nurse. In the second row is Director of Operations Dan Bennett. Also receiving credit from Dale Kuhnert, WCGH Board of Directors, were Mark Biscone, Executive Director, and local dentist Dr. John Lewis and Orthodontist Dr. Ed Zanca.

   The Registered Dental Hygienist at Waldo County Dental Care will do dental cleanings, x-rays, screenings, fluoride treatments, sealants, temporary fillings, oral health instruction, and a referral for further care by a dentist, if needed.

Waldo County Dental Care has two dental chairs ready for patients.

   To qualify, an individual must:

   • not have seen a dentist in the past 12 months;

   • live in Waldo County;

   • meet federal    income guide   lines (for family of four that is $41,213); and

   • be at least age 18.

   Depending on the family’s income level, there is a sliding co-pay of between $10 and $20.

   Motorcycle riders, mark your calendar! On Sunday, Sept. 22, Waldo County General Hospital will be sponsoring the second annual Waldo County Ride for Oncology. This will be a fun event plus an opportunity to raise money to help those fighting cancer.

   The day will start with registration at the Waldo County Shrine Club. The ride will take off at 10:30 a.m. and will return to the Shrine Club around 12:30 p.m. From 12:30 to 2 p.m., there will be a live band and food available.

   The registration fee for the ride on Sept. 22 is $25, which includes lunch, a goodie bag and the live music. Additional lunches can be purchased for $10.

   However, if you pre-register prior to Sept. 22, the cost is only $20. To pre-register, go to

www.wcgh.org/rideforoncology.

   For more information, call Gary Collins at 322-8675.

  Waldo County General Hospital has awarded $18,000 in scholarships to 19 residents of Waldo County who are pursuing further education in a healthcare-related field. Awards are made to graduating high school seniors, college undergraduates, and employees pursuing careers in healthcare-related fields.

   Selected to receive scholarships and the area of study he or she plans to pursue are Jennifer Cook, nursing, Paige Emerson, nursing, Rhonda Fowlie, nursing, Ashland Hall, speech & language, Sherri Littlefield, nursing, Alexis Morse, pre-med, Brenda Prisco, nursing, Jordan Ray, nursing, Maggie Raymond, nursing, Killyan Richards, nursing, Katelyn Ross, nursing, Kaitlyn Schweikert, healthcare administration, Janelle Scott, nursing, Julia Spieldenner, nursing, Theresa Spieldenner, nursing, Sierra Warner, nursing, Chantelle Whitcomb, pharmacy, Starlyn Whitcomb, nursing, and Candace Work, nursing.

    The second annual R.I.D.E. (Reliable Information about Diabetes Education) for diabetes will be held Saturday, Sept. 14.

   There are actually three bike rides: Family Fun Ride of one mile; a ride of 7.25 miles; and an 18.25 mile ride. Proceeds will benefit scholarships for Diabetes Education.

   Registration will take place from 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. at the Education Center at Waldo County General  Hospital. The 18.25 mile ride will take off at 9:30 a.m.; the 7.25 mile ride at 9:45 a.m.; and the Family Run Ride at 10 a.m.

   The fee for any of the rides is $15 per person or $20 per family. There will be free T-shirts for riders (families receive the first 3 T-shirts for free, the remainder are $5 each).

   To register, go to active.com. For more information, call Sarah O’Blenes at 338-2500 ext. 4607 or email: soblenes@wcgh.org.

Dr. Dana Whitten, left, and Dr. Joseph Anderson of Belfast Pediatrics present Killyan Richards with the Dana and Diane Whitten Scholarship.

   Killyan Richards of Northport has been awarded the Dana and Diane Whitten Scholarship for 2013. A graduate of Belfast Area High School, Killyan will attend Husson University in the fall to study nursing. Her ultimate goal is to work in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

   The Dana and Diane Whitten Scholarship is a cash prize awarded annually to a graduating senior from Belfast Area High School who has demonstrated a strong commitment to caring for and improving the lives of children.

Lois Aitken, gift shop treasurer, presented Mark Biscone, Executive Director of Waldo County General Hospital, with two checks for the hospital’s annual campaign–$4,500 from the gift shop and $6,000 from the Aid’s general treasury.

   Waldo County General Hospital Aid members ended their fiscal year in May with an annual meeting and luncheon at Penobscot Shores. A highlight of the celebration was the awarding of pins for volunteer hours by Teri Young-Hise, Director of Nursing. Total hours of service given to the hospital for the past year are 7,405 hours by 50 volunteers. Twenty-three members were recognized at a new level of volunteer hours ranging from 50 hours to 8,000 hours.

   Wilma Moses of Belfast was singled out as the highest achiever with 8,071 hours in total over her 24 years of volunteering. Many years ago she was asked to help out in the hospital pharmacy by a staff member. She went on to become a licensed pharmacist technician at age 78 and works there one day a week. Wilma also volunteers on events, is a past president of the Aid and is the garden walk chair.

   Special commendation was given to Ed Kelley and Marion Pride who have reached 4,000 hours of service each. Ed volunteers in the mail room and has filled many roles in the Aid. Marion is a past president who joined the Aid over 30 years ago. They each received a pin from WCGH and the U.S. Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. The lifetime achievement award is presented by the Points of Light Foundation and includes a certificate, enamel pin with an eagle and lettering “The President’s Call to Service Award” and a letter from President Barack Obama. The letter echoes a thought that the hospital extends to all of its volunteers, “Thank you for your devotion to service and for doing all you can to shape a better tomorrow for our great Nation…by addressing the most pressing needs in your community.”

   Lois Aitken, gift shop treasurer, presented Mark Biscone, Executive Director, with two checks for the hospital’s annual campaign—$4,500 from the gift shop and $6,000 from the Aid’s general treasury. The Aid holds many fundraising activities throughout the year including a yard sale, silver tea, auction and gift raffles to benefit the hospital.

   The Hospital Aid was established in 1901 and has 107 members.