The Mission Health Care Auxiliary donates hundreds of thousands of dollars every year towards health services and community care.

These services are provided with funds raised during the year by volunteers through a number of programs the auxiliary offers, including the gift shop at the hospital, The Cottage on First Avenue, and television and telephone rental services for patients at the hospital.

Volunteers are always needed, especially now in the TV and telephone service, said Alyce Campbell, department convenor.

Two of the group’s volunteers are returning to school this month, leaving a gap in the service.

Mission Memorial Hospital is one of the few in the region which offers this through volunteers, keeping costs low for patients and putting money back into the community, said Campbell.

Television and telephone rentals at most other hospitals are run by a private company with paid staff.

“This is our service,” she said, adding the auxiliary is responsible for paying the monthly cable bill and purchasing headsets.

Nearly every bed in the hospital has a TV available, which is the busier of the two services. The televisions were upgraded last year to compact flat screens with a flexible arm. When they are not being used, they can be stored neatly against the wall, out of the way for nurses and doctors attending to patients.

The telephones snap onto the bedrail.

Volunteers usually work on a weekly rotation and can sometimes spend as little as half an hour or as much as a few hours each shift.

They have to make the rounds and see if anyone wants the service, explained Campbell. Sometimes shifts are longer when volunteers take the time to talk to patients.

Hooking up the service is easy, Campbell added. Volunteers are armed with a remote control to activate television access, and telephones are simply plugged in.

“It’s not a hard job, and it’s not a long job, but there is accountability.”

Campbell has been a member of the auxiliary for three years and is now more involved than ever, working not only as the supervisor for the TV and phone rental service, but also as a volunteer at the information desk at the front of the hospital.

“It’s really good work,” she said. “For me, it’s not just going in and hooking up the TV, I get to meet people and have chats with them.”

Anyone interested in volunteering with this service can pick up an application form at the information desk at MMH.

For more information about the Mission Health Care Auxiliary, visit www.missionhealthcareauxiliary.com.