CMHS Auxiliary Helps Brighten Our Holidays

Although many of our Auxiliary members have been unable to continue their regular duties within our hospitals during the pandemic, several of them gathered recently to help decorate the Christmas trees for the Community Memorial Hospital campus in Ventura.

In order to protect participating members the trees were decorated outside at the labyrinth located within the park in front of the new Ocean Tower at CMH. The labyrinth is a special location for the Auxiliary as this area was made possible through a generous gift from the Auxiliary during the Capital Campaign supporting the building of the new hospital.

Once the trees were dressed up, they were transported inside to take their respective places within the lobbies of the Ocean Tower and the Mountain Tower.

“On behalf of the Auxiliary, we are thankful for the opportunity to be part of the CMHS team, helping to make our hospital welcoming during the holidays,” said Trudy Cook, CMHS Auxiliary President. In the early days of the pandemic, the volunteers’ provided sewing services which made blankets for patients, then moved on to using those skills to make cloth masks for patients in need.

“It’s wonderful to see our community working together to support one another,” said CMHS President and CEO Gary Wilde. “The holiday decorations have helped boost the morale of our staff and lift the spirits of our patients. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

The CMHS Auxiliary is a volunteer organization whose mission is to augment CMHS’s programs and services. Volunteers generously give their time and talents to help smooth the operation of many hospital services.

Services they perform include staffing the Book Cart, greeting folks in the lobby reception area, supporting the Emergency Department, and helping out in departments including the GI Lab/Infusion Center, Maternity department, NICU, Pharmacy, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Same Day Surgery and Surgery Waiting Room Reception.