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Four Rivers Co-op donates $10,000 to Quesnel’s hospital auxiliary for fetal monitor

Funds helped the Auxiliary purchase essential equipment for G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital
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Members of the Auxiliary to G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel (in red) as well as hospital administration members accept a cheque for $10,000 from Four Rivers Coop to go towards a fetal monitor for the maternity ward. Melanie Law photo

Four Rivers Co-op has donated $10,000 from its Community Support Fund to the Auxiliary to G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel to help it purchase a fetal monitor for the maternity ward.

The Auxiliary has already raised $10,000 for the monitor, and with the additional funds have now been able to order the equipment for the hospital. The monitor allows maternity nurses and doctors to check babies’ heart rates during pregnancy, and is especially useful for high-risk pregnancies, according to Four Rivers Co-op’s press release.

Dr. Pieter Slabbert thanked the Auxiliary for their fundraising efforts, and said the fetal monitor is essential to the hospital.

“There’s a lot of things that are nice to have, but there are some things we really have to have and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have some bad outcomes for some of our moms and babies. This is really one of those pieces of equipment that is fundamental to the way we practice obstetrical care these days,” he commented.

Auxiliary president Marlene Connell thanked Four Rivers Co-op for the $10,000 donation.

“We are very proud and excited. A donation like this is pretty darn special to us, and it makes our purchases come a lot faster.”

Connell said the Auxiliary will now focus on raising funds for other pieces of equipment on the hospital’s wishlist, through their various activities including bake sales and other fundraising drives, and through sales from the Auxiliary Gift Shop on the main floor of the hospital.

In attendance at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital on Jan. 8 to deliver the cheque were Cathy Vossler, a director on the Four Rivers Coop board, and Wade Sharp, branch manager of Quesnel’s Four Rivers Co-op, who presented the funds to members of the Auxiliary, as well as representatives from the hospital’s administration and Dr. Slabbert.

“We all wear our smocks very proudly. … Our goal has been to raise funds for hospital equipment that’s not in their budget but that they need. We have been working for quite a few months to purchase a fetal monitor for maternity,” commented Connell.

The Auxiliary also aims to provide patient comfort through their fundraising efforts. It was one of 10 organizations to receive funding from Co-op’s Community Support Fund in 2018.

Co-op donates a total of $100,000 each year from the program, which supports community groups, non-profits and charitable organizations hoping to improve the quality of life within their communities.

READ MORE: Christmas came early for hospital auxiliary



editor@quesnelobserver.com

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