Auxiliary donates $100,000

COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai Health Auxiliary recently donated $100,000 to help support the expansion of heart rhythm services and neonatology intensive care services at Kootenai Health.

The funds were raised over the past couple of years through the auxiliary's gift shop.

"This couldn't be done without the volunteers and all their help," said Jill Williamson, gift shop manager. "The gift shop is staffed by volunteers and that is a big reason that expenses can be kept low and the auxiliary is able to make such a large and generous gift."

Williamson began volunteering in 1971, more than 40 years ago. The auxiliary program began in 1967; a year after, what was then called, Kootenai Memorial Hospital was built. That spring, the hospital hosted a tea for physicians and their wives; from that group, the auxiliary was born.

"We have always been here to do whatever the hospital needs us to do," Williamson said. "I was invited to join the auxiliary by Mary Broderick; one of the first in the association. I thought it would be a really great thing to do, and I've been here ever since."

Volunteers work in a number of areas at the hospital. They assist specific departments by picking up mail, making deliveries and discharging or transporting patients. Volunteers in the gift shop meet the public face-to-face and help with sales, while others work at information desks and help visitors find where they need to go. As a community-owned hospital, the thousands of hours donated by volunteers does not go unnoticed.

"I truly feel that we are blessed to live in such a giving community," said Sarah Nielsen, Kootenai Health's director of volunteer services. "We could not operate as efficiently as we do without the help of so many talented volunteers."

Gifts from the auxiliary and gift shop have had a significant impact at Kootenai Medical Center over the years, said Teri Farr, Kootenai Health Foundation President.

"Operating costs aside, everything earned from the gift shop goes back to the hospital. The auxiliary has donated $640,000 for services that truly enhance the comfort and care of patients," she said in a press release.

Williamson said she's proud to help support the expansion of hospital services.

"We've come a long way from our little one-story hospital," she said.