BMH Auxiliary Donates $80,200 to Hospital

January 25, 2008 - (BUTLER, PA) - At its year-end meeting, the BMH Auxiliary presented a check for $80,200 to Ken DeFurio, Butler Health System President and CEO. This money was raised by the Auxiliary over the past year in various hospital fundraising events and through the proceeds from the Cherry Tree Gift Shoppe and the Hostess Shop.

"Each year we donate thousands of hours of volunteer service to the hospital but we also provide financial support with the proceeds we earn from various sales and our gift and coffee shop," says Pat Jackson, BMH Auxiliary president.

This year, the Auxiliary voted to purchase several pieces of technology for the hospital with these funds:

• Two defibrillators for the Cardiology Department
• A bedside ultrasound machine for the Emergency Department
• EKG equipments for the Emergency Department
• Cryostat machine for the Laboratory to analyze cancer tissue

"The support of these volunteers is deeply appreciated," says DeFurio, "The gift of their time is priceless, and each piece of equipment funded by our Auxiliary will enhance care and assure that we are providing state of the art care to our community. We thank them all very, very much."

The BMH Auxiliary includes 287 women and men who come from communities throughout Butler County. A separate program for those in high school, the Candystripers, has 65 members. Auxilians and Candystripers can be found helping throughout the hospital including at the front information desk, the Cherry Tree Gift Shop, the Hostess Shoppe, radiology, the print shop, public relations, medical records, in the Transitional Care Facility, the emergency department, the outpatient surgery family waiting area and the intensive care waiting room.

Auxilians also knit caps for newborns, assist with filing and mailing, contact clergy at a patient's request, operate the hostess cart, register new babies and help with community projects such as health fairs and screenings.

Those interested in joining the Auxiliary or Candystripers can contact Ida Findley, Volunteer Coordinator at (724) 284-4112.