The Chester River Hospital Center Auxiliary celebrated 60 years of service to health care in Kent and northern Queen Anne’s counties at its 2019 Annual Meeting held at Heron Point in Chestertown on Tuesday, January 8. The occasion included a luncheon, remarks by Peggy Roca, manager of Perioperative Services at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, installation of new officers and recognition of individual members for reaching milestones in their volunteer hours accumulated.
Auxiliary President Sue Edson announced that during 2018, Auxiliary volunteers worked approximately 10,358 hours in the hospital gift shop, at the Nearly New Shop and on Board activities. According to the Maryland Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, every hour volunteered is valued at $24.69 per hour, which brings the total value of Auxiliary members’ time volunteered during the year to $259,386.
“You are all a very important part of the team at our hospital here in Chestertown,” said Edson. “Thank you for all the time you have given this year and if you know anyone who has four hours a week available, we always need additional volunteers!”
Volunteers who had accumulated 500 hours of service were presented with a special, gold star pin. This year year’s honorees were
Nearly New Shop: Thelma Bright, Shirley Gaynor, Trish Harwood, Charlotte Slagle and Joanna Rash (who worked 330 hours in 2018!)
In-House Volunteers & Gift Shop: Phyllis Brown (1,048 hours – Gift Shop and Nearly New Shop), Gwinn Derricott (3,699 hours total, more than 300 in 2018), Carol Droge (1,275 hours total, more than 300 in 2018), Jane Hukill (2,031 hours), Diane McAneny (565 hours) and Vicki Neal (1,094 hours).
Installed as the Auxiliary’s new officers were:
- Sue Edson, President
- Jack Edson, Vice President & Immediate Past President
- Joann Bowdle, Parliamentarian
- Carol Droge, Corresponding Secretary
- Kathy Ruge, Secretary
- Jean Anthony, Treasurer
Peggy Roca provided an overview of the many kinds of surgery performed at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown and thanked the Auxiliary for its many generous donations to help make possible all-new, state of the art equipment available to the surgical services team. “We have the best of the best equipment here to care for our patients’ surgical needs,” Roca said,