photo_bevWhy do I donate to the hospital?

It’s interesting how an institution can weave its way through the tapestry of your life without your being aware of how large a part it has been, and is, playing. St. Joseph’s Hospital, for the past sixteen years, has been part of the fabric of my life in so many ways. For example, I do most of my community volunteering there. My grand-niece was born in “St. Joe’s”, assisted by a good friend who had recently started his medical career in the Valley. My mother and my father-in-law both died in St. Joseph’s. Six days ago a friend passed away after receiving excellent care first in intensive care and then on the 3rd floor. Both his wife and my ex-husband had been residents of The Views, St. Joseph’s complex care ward. Friends receive chemotherapy. I am regularly screened for breast cancer (cancer is big in my family). Luckily I have only been a patient once for minor surgery but over and over again I have seen the excellent care the staff has given to many friends, relatives and acquaintances throughout the time I have lived in Comox.

I know I am grateful for the services St. Joseph’s Hospital has been giving to those I care about. And I would like to see it continue. That’s why I donate to the hospital. I donate because I appreciate the work the hospital does, in the care that it provides to all of us who need it, and in its staff at all levels. I donate because St. Joseph’s has done some very good work, and has done it with heart. I want that to continue. I want my community to have the kind of people St. Joseph’s Hospital has to deliver its babies, fix cataracts, give chemo treatments, patch up accident victims, give nursing support and so on. I want the friendliness of the Auxiliary ladies, to have the volunteers continuing to support the paid staff, to be able to receive pastoral care as yet another death occurs, to exchange hellos with the CEO in the hallways. It’s so very, very worthwhile. Whether I have a little money, or a lot, my giving to the hospital has been my way of saying, “Thank you. I appreciate everything that all of you are doing. You make my community a better place.”

As a baby boomer the odds are great that one day I will be very appreciative that the Comox Valley has a good hospital. In fact, it was a good part of the reason why we moved here.

That in itself is a good reason to donate; it’s an investment, isn’t it?