Hospital Auxiliary Gets Bang for the Buck

JoLynn Hawkinson, Ann Goetz, Jim Kaiser and Ruby Rausch stand in front of one the newly redone wall arrangements which are part of the new updated look on the patient floor of Holy Infant Hospital.

The Holy Infant Hospital Auxiliary just finished putting the finishing touches on their latest project, a complete facelift of the second floor of the hospital. Now visitors are greeted with a homey atmosphere provided by buttery yellow and sage green walls, wood look railings and corner protectors and new art arrangements on the walls in the halls. The colors match the nurses station and staff lounge that were redone earlier last year.

The current project got underway last September when Clarice VanWell of Watertown and her painting partner, Donna painted the walls. Ed and Kathy Williams teamed up to put up the new railings, corner trim and mopboards, which was more of project than anticipated as every piece had to cut to length and new holes drilled. Ruby Rausch and JoLynn Hawkinson, with the help of Hawkinson’s husband, Dennis recycled existing wall art and added some of their own touches from home for a new look in the hallways. Word art adds a contemporary touch.

According to Ruby and JoLynn, the long term care residents were excited to watch the face lift process, and enjoy their pretty new surroundings. In addition to funding, designing and helping with the facelift of most of the hospital’s second floor, the Auxiliary also saw to it that the statue in front of the building was refurbished, the carpet on the front steps replaced and the outside lettering redone.

Hawkinson and Rausch do their very best to make every Auxiliary dollar count. In all, the Auxiliary contributed approximately $10,000 this past year as they pursued their ongoing goal of easing patient comfort and keeping up the facility. In addition to updating the hospital’s look, the Auxiliary also purchased two geriatric chairs, an addressograph machine, a pulse oximetery machine that simultaneously measures blood pressure and oxygen, new file cabinets for the staff lounge, an electric eye for the elevator and new electric fans for the clinic. Several other small projects were also completed. The dining room is on dock as an upcoming project.

The Auxiliary holds several fundraisers during the year. A fireworks stand and serving the Sportsman’s Club banquet are their biggest money makers followed by the annual Musical Fun Night. This year’s program is to be held on Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. at the Legion Hall. Admission will be charged. Following the program is a free will soup and sandwich supper featuring three types of soup and ice cream donated by Schwan’s. The Modern Woodsmen of America will provide matching funds.

Rausch gathered the talent for Sunday’s program. Several people from the area will be sharing their musical talents and there will also be a special poetry presentation.

Hawkinson and Rausch invite the public to come take a look at the newly redecorated patient floor and encourage everyone to support the hospital by enjoying Musical Fun Night. "Our services here are so vital," Rausch said, "Lives have been saved because they were first diagnosed or stabilized here and long term care allows residents to be near their families."

Hoven Review