New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Friday, September 6,...
Latest gift fills the cupboards of Mental Health Unit
For the 9th year in a row a group of friends have come together at Christmastime to host an annual fundraiser for the Mental Health Unit at the Aberdeen Hospital. Held on December 1, the group raised $9,500, and donated several boxes of personal items helping to fill the cupboards in the Mental Health Unit for the benefit of its patients.
Over nine years, the group has raised a remarkable $50,000 for the Unit, and all funds stay in Pictou County to help ensure our community has the support it needs right here at home.
Pictured: Wendy Dewtie, LPN, Mental Health Unit
These funds have been able to buy more personal care items than one can imagine, such as pyjamas, and slippers. But more importantly, the funds have been able to make the Mental Health Unit a warmer, homier environment, improving the comfort, care, and safety of the unit’s patients.
The unit has a new kitchen, complete with cupboards, stove, washer, dryer, kitchen table and chairs; and a living room with TVs, couch, tables and chairs, computer games, and exercise equipment – all of which helps to reduce stress and improve outcomes.
The most recently funded project is $4,500 worth of resource material for staff, the clients and their families.
“Our goal is to bring together a group of family and friends to help in some small way to improve the care provided to the patients, and help all of us better understand and change the way people think about mental illness,” says Susan Malcolm, Aberdeen Health Foundation.
“These gifts for the patients provide a sense of comfort and caring to those in need when they arrive at the hospital, and serve to dramatically improve the care that the doctors and nurses are able to provide. It is truly amazing to think that often these patients have only the clothes on their backs and their spirits are raised immeasurably by a simple gesture of a pair of socks or slippers. These gifts are a true testament to the generosity of our community and its commitment to enhancing health care here.”