Mary “Louise” Wood retires after volunteering 1,866 hours over the past 20 years at MCMH
Pictured at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital Volunteer appreciation breakfast are L-R Stacie Brown, Volunteer Director; Jack McCormack, Interim CEO; Bob Merrill, Board Chair; Louise Wood, retiring volunteer; Jane Sanderson, Public Relations/Marketing Manager; and Lynda Tadema-Wielandt, Volunteer Coordinator.
Ellsworth , ME – “Volunteers Build a Better World” was the theme as Maine Coast Memorial Hospital recently honored their volunteers with an appreciation breakfast at the Ellsworth Ramada Inn. The total of all volunteer hours for the year at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital was 11,388 hours performed by 106 volunteers. An amazing feat! Volunteers were recognized at the event for reaching a new 100-hour milestone. Director of Volunteer Services, Stacie Brown states, “Volunteers not only build a better world, but make Maine Coast Memorial Hospital a better place for patients, visitors and employees. Our community exercise instructors volunteer hundreds of hours a year keeping our community members strong and healthy. Where would we be without them?” Bob Merrill, Chair of the Board, and Jack McCormack, Interim CEO were present along with Volunteer Director Stacie Brown and Jane Sanderson who manages the special events to thank the volunteers for their tireless service to our community.
MCMH meets $500,000 challenge
ELLSWORTH, ME – With the help of hundreds of donors from across the region, Maine Coast Memorial Hospital has met a $500,000 fundraising challenge presented late last year.
In December 2009, an anonymous donor stepped forward to pledge a $500,000 gift, in the form of a challenge grant, to benefit the F. Eugene Dixon, Jr. Emergency Center Capital Campaign.
The successful completion of the challenge gift was announced at the Capital Campaign Committee’s June meeting. ”We had a tremendous effort by the Campaign Committee to ensure matching funds were committed by May 31,” Board Chair Robert Merrill said. ”Meeting the challenge was only possible through the commitment of the community who recognized the need for the Emergency Center project.”
Jack Frost, Director of Maine Coast Healthcare Foundation, said that gifts and pledges ranged between $10 and $75,000 over the 24-week challenge period. “We’ve been so gratified by the support and enthusiasm the public has demonstrated for this project,” said Frost. “So many people stepped forward with gifts at all levels to help us meet this challenge.” More than 25 percent of donors to the challenge are first-time contributors to the hospital.
“We’ll be working hard this month to meet the campaign’s overall $5 million goal,” said Frost. “The success of the challenge has put us very close to our goal, but there’s still work to do.”
The hospital’s administration and Board of Trustees began to consider the need for a new Emergency Center in 2004. After several years of careful planning, construction began in October 2008. The Dixon Emergency Center opened on March 1, 2010. The facility provides comprehensive emergency care in an expanded facility that includes 13,500 square feet of new space, designed to serve 24,000 patients annually.
