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Caring about kids who have to wait in the ER
Donation from Pictou County’s Police agencies gets creative
Kay Desborough is the type of person that takes matters into her own hands. Where there’s a need, Kay steps forward. Kay has been one of the organizers behind a group of about two-dozen quilters and sewers who get together in Little Harbour to make colourful, comfortable pillowcases for the Women and Children’s Unit at the Aberdeen hospital.
L-R: Kay Desborough; Linda MacNeil, RN Women & Children’s Unit; and Kathy Smith. Kay and Kathy have made over 400 pillowcases. The most recent donation included several flannel coverings for the hospital’s new bassinets.
Kay was delivering 50 more pillowcases to the hospital when a casual conversation with Susan Malcolm of the Aberdeen Health Foundation made her aware that because of infection control policy, the hospital’s Emergency Room (ER) would no longer have a selection of books and toys for children in the waiting room. Susan had been wondering about putting together some items that could be given to the children to keep as their own.
While Kay could understand concerns about patient safety, she too could not imagine what it would be like for children and families at such a time. She knew how simple items such as a colouring book could preoccupy children and make a visit to the ER less stressful.
Susan Malcolm recalls with a chuckle, “Before she was back in Pictou I’m sure she had this all organized.”
Kay called Cst. John Kennedy from the Adopt-A-Library program, and before Susan knew it she had a message from John saying that he had books, a bookshelf, and a treasure chest full of items such as cards, crayons, and notepads.
Brody & Brooklyn with Diane Lees, RN, Emergency Room
The Adopt-A-Library program works with partners in the community to empower children through literacy and prevent crime and delinquency. Its home is the Pictou Antigonish Regional Library headquarters in New Glasgow.
“The goal is to fight crime one book at a time and to do that we try and get as many books into the hands of as many children as we can utilizing the local police agencies to do this,” says Cst. Kennedy. “Over the years across N.S. we have handed out in excess of over 500,000 books with the help of people like Kay Desborough as well as Police agencies across the Province. Being able to provide these items to the Aberdeen Health Foundation is a wonderful way to further our mission and help families who have to have to spend time at the hospital.”
This donation to the Aberdeen Health Foundation for the emergency room is on behalf of the Police agencies of Pictou County: the Pictou County District RCMP, New Glasgow Police and Westville Police, and it will be a welcome surprise for families in the ER.
For more information about the many ways that the people of Pictou County are supporting and actively enhancing health care here please spend some time on our website, there’s lots of good news here.