Hospital staff join Sallies in spreading Christmas spirit

Media Release

Hospital staff join Salvation Army in spreading Christmas spirit

Date: Thursday 13 December 2012

Hundreds of Waikato Hospital staff and some patients arrived at the first ever Waikato Hospital-wide Christmas celebration bearing gifts for vulnerable Hamilton children.

The gifts were piled under a giant Christmas ‘remembrance’ tree in the Acute Services Building atrium laden with decorations bought by hospital staff in memory of loved ones.

All gifts and money raised from decorations were presented to the Salvation Army Hamilton city community ministries by Santa-suit clad clinical unit leader for Internal Medicine Dr Clyde Wade. The Salvation Army will distribute these amongst some 250 families this Christmas season.

The Salvation Army Hamilton City community ministries has a long history of providing an extensive range of vibrant social services in Hamilton.

“Some of the families we will be helping this Christmas have eight to 10 children, so this contribution will help them dramatically. Thank you very much to Waikato Hospital staff for your generous donation,” Salvation Army’s Major Lindsay Chisholm said.

Dr Wade publicly praised the Salvation Army for the long-standing contribution they have made not only to the wider community, but also to Waikato Hospital.

“The Salvation Army has been a friend to this hospital and those within it for a very long time. Every Sunday morning they play music on the grass outside. It’s one of the main things I enjoy about ward rounds on the weekend.”

The celebration, which drew close to 300 hospital employees and some patients, was organised by a small team of Internal Medicine staff who spent countless voluntary hours in preparation for the event.

A bagpipe welcome from Erin and Trent Dent drew people from all over the hospital, and guests were entertained by a humorous skit put on by Internal Medicine staff, a Kapa Haka performance by Norton Primary School children, and songs played by the Salvation Army brass band.

The celebration was cost neutral for the organisation due to sponsorship from supporters and Waikato Health Trust funds.

Chief operating officer Jan Adams thanked staff for their various contributions throughout what she called a “stellar year”.

“We’ve performed nationally, locally, and regionally on a number of fronts. None of this could have been done without you and your colleagues who couldn’t be here today.

“We know that everyone comes here every day to do the very best they can and to do a little bit more than they did the day before. That is the spirit of this organisation and that is the spirit of health in New Zealand. So I want to say thank you for that,” she said.

Waikato Hospital would like to thank the following supporters and sponsors of the event:

• Momento
• Blake Estate
• Salvation Army
• Waikato Heart Fund
• Waikato Hospital Fund
• Big River Catering
• Kapa Haka Group
• Finance Department
• NZ Sound Reinforcement
• Waikato Medical Unit Fund
• Dr Steven Saunders
• Waikato Dialysis Unit Fund
• Waikato Rheumatology Fund
• Waikato Respiratory Research
• Endocrinology Department Fund

ENDS

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