Published on July 19, 2010

Hospital Auxiliary Donation Helps Young and Old

Three Rivers Community Hospital (TRCH) Auxiliary has donated $45,000 to assist in funding the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) expansion project at Rogue Valley Medical Center (RVMC) and to purchase bladder scanners for TRCH.

The generous donation from TRCH Auxiliary to an RVMC project is unusual, but according to Pat Shipley, president of the TRCH Auxiliary, "Our babies will have to go to Eugene or Portland without our local NICU." Rashell McClintock, clinical nurse manager for the Family Birth Center at TRCH, is also concerned. "Our relationship with RVMC is essential, we provide excellent care, but when we have situations that go beyond what we are designed to provide, the NICU is our lifeline," McClintock said. The NICU at RVMC draws patients from nine counties in Southern Oregon and Northern California and is the only location offering neonatal care in the region.

The two bladder scanners purchased for TRCH will allow nurses to determine whether or not a patient requires a catheter. A catheter can be uncomfortable or even painful to some patients, and according to the Center for Disease Control over 40 percent of all institutionally acquired infections are caused by catheters. Robin Hood, clinical manager of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), said, "The bladder scanner will decrease patient stays in the hospital by allowing operative bladder lift patients to remain in the PACU longer."

Volunteers for the TRCH Auxiliary come from diverse backgrounds and offer varied skills to the organization such as sewing, providing valuable customer services at the information desks and assisting in patient transport for Emergency Department Express. "The volunteers do a tremendous job and they put in more than their share of time," Shipley said.

For more information or to volunteer contact the TRCH Auxiliary at 541-789-5875 or through e-mail at volunteer@asante.org. For information about the NICU expansion and how you can help, contact the Asante Foundation at 541-472-7300.