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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-02-01, Page 15THURSDAY nday re 15 r rhich Barb McGee is shown here removing laundry from the huge washer -extractor. A great deal of time is saved by the ,use of this apparatus which extracts water automatically. The Alexandra M'arine and General Hospital in Goderich boasts one of the -finest laun- dries in this part of Ontario. ' They have every right to this boast, for their regular staff of five women, very content in 'have totitl"'of' 6T'"'` years of experience in this field. The .members of the laundry staff are Mrs. Mary Williams with 19 years experience; Mrs. Barb McGee, 22 years; Mrs. 9c 9c This yis where it all 'begins as Barb McGee separates and weighs the bags of laundry info proper loads' the machines,can handle. Mrs. McGee estimates that she lifts about 1,385 pounds of laundry per day. ri 0 'Dorthey Gauley, nine years; the'.k9 pital. In this flood, and Mrs. Beth Dobie and Mrs. , most ..ref the hospital records Errna Hoey each with five and. were destroyed. The laundry one half years.,'room located in the basement, To these wonrendedicated to • was unable to function and the a seemingly unrecognized but„,,hospital desperately needed most important part of hospitalclean laundry for its patients. -life; ' lattttd m rn -:• vervda! o. , M --wirf inm's--'r c-fr-witim -1, business. dering just how they were going Goderich Alexandra has to get some of the muddy 'always had it's own laundry. A Exeter wash clean. After an few other local hospitals send extra day's work, and one girl's their laundry to laundry cin- postponed •vacation, South ters. For example., Kincardine Huron Hospital's' laundry sends their laundry to Walker- problem was -solved. None of ton for cleaning. the ladies would accept any In the early clays of Goderich money, for their extra day's Alexandra Marine * and-rn. work. However, South Huron General, the washing was done bought them each a lovely gift by hand and then. hung out on to show their `appreciation for a lines to dry. Today, with the job well done. modern equipment, about 11 Currently, the hospital laun- loads a day are run through totalling is handling approximately totalling , approximately, 1,;185 27,000 pounds of laundry per pounds Of laundry. month. The machines in the The up to date equipment in- laundry room are only shut off eludes a washer -extractor about- 45 minutes out of every capable of taking 1:15 pounds at eight hou'r day. a time; a manual washer These women in the laundry capable of Llai pounds periloa room deserve much credit for (which must have additional the job they do in the heat 'of water,, extracted afterwards); a -the laundry room in winter; not gas and steam dryer; and a to mention the sweltering sum - mangle which _irons everything . mers. One woman, Mrs. Barb but towels, pajama. tops and McGee in the line of duty lifts gowns. about 1,:1115 pounds' div: The expertise of the -staff With consideratio' being came to light in July 1969 when given to the possible the Exeter South Huron amalgamation of two or more Hospital found themselves in hospital laundries into tine cen- dire need of the laundry service tral unit, one could easily that Goderich Alexandra could; speculate that. the Goderich provide. Alexandra Marine and General A severe flood had ,exten- sively damaged the basement and parts of the ground floor of Hospital laundry would he a likely choice as a control cen- ter. Articles that can not be ironed by the "mangle” must be pressed. The laundry room super - .visor, Mrs. Mary Williams, also runs the presser. Orderlies' uniforms, aprons, coats and pants are some of the items that are . done. One of the 'final stages of the operation is the loading of the carts with fresh, clean laundry. Here Mrs. Hoey of the left and Mrs. Gauley (right) are kept busy preparing the carts to be taken upstairs. t The Huron [snit of the Can- • Miss McKinnon !did report, cer Society met in Goderich last "-however, that the need for Thursday evening for the dressings is regular January session. Unit . decreasing—another sign th't 'President Gordon 'Richardson the fight against, 7cancer is conducted a brief business paving off in earlier detection peripd when reports from all and more cures. . the branches in Huron were Colostomy supplies, -re also heard . _ provided__..without ar`ge- to -7 patients in need, and Miss McKinnon said the need here is growing, probably. because the Cancer Society's educational "program -is bringing more and more people to know the seven signs of possible problems. Eleven pain relieving drugs are paid for through the Cancer Society for needy patients. Lodges for patients with can- cer are found in London, 'Thun- der Bay, Princess Margaret Hospital in 'Toronto, Ottawa and just recently, a small lodge The "mangle" operated here by Mrs. Doble (front) and Mrs. Hoey (back) Ise very important part of the laundry. equipment. It is capable of ironing everything but towels, pyjama tops • niforms.. �. Special speaker for the evening was Sheila McKinnon, co-ordinator for Services to Patients for the Ontario Division of the Cancer Society. She described her department as "the heart of the organization" and said it was "doing all sorts of things" to aid those patients with cancer. The Services to Patients department started out first of all making dressings for cancer sufferers.' Now, it spends 15 percent of all the money taken irr-red--boa}:t..-ltLiX O volun- was located in Hamilton. teers. These are hu r l,v the Crt- Dressings are still a large; Society and turned back to the part of the work.,, They aTe community where' cancer provided free of charge to all who needs and request them. Pc ic The Goderich Alexandra Marino and Genual HOspitat MM. .44Y hconilldered one of the finest in the area, They have a MaH of Mve regulars and up to date equipment to enable themto tea►. tiii r Joh► most *fictively. The staff has a tdtal of 61 years -experience amongst them. volunteers take over. The Service to Patients com- mittee has a visiting program as well. as an activity program for patients with cancer who need some 'rehabilitation after treatment. These services are proving very popular and wor- thwhile, Miss McKinnon saia. Transportation takes up a large part of the budget, each year because transportation for patients with cancer is such a vital, on-going thing. - The problem of securing volunteer drivers - people of a very special nature who will ap- preciate the* circumstances surrounding „their work - are needed in almost every unit and branch in the province, the speaker claimed. Home nursing is provided for periods of time and in some cases, housekeeping services are also supplied' through the Cancer St'iciety. A new service is being initiated for mastectomy --patients. This involves women who have had surgery for can- cer -tri• tie breast visiting with patients who are about to have or just recently have had such surgery. It is believed that. such "bolstering of courage" • will de Much to alleviate the problems of distress which of - The start of a new cycle is near as the cart of fresh, clean laundry pushed by Harry Tideswell is on its way upstairs to the wards. In'only a couple of days it will be returned to be laundered again. - m ten accompany a mastectomy. The Miss Flop contest - the contest whereby a student nurse hecomes a ray of sun- shine for the Cancer Society for a period of one year is spon- sored by services of Patients. This year's winner in the area is Patricia 'Pet ers---St---Thfn $, who did very well in ' the provincial. contest last week in Toronto. "Help the big fight," 'con- cluded Miss McKinnon. "We're going to beat it. Don. Brandt of the Ontario Division was on hand to speak briefly about his work with .the Cancer Society. He said there was every likelihood that Thaineswd'od Lodge in London would be enlarged this year. Brandt said that while he was-sor.r•..v...that._there was n need for more space as Thameswood, he °was thankful ..that topnotch facilities were now available to treat those patients with cancer in the area. It was learned at the meeting that the national object for the Canadian Cancer Society this year, is eight and one-half million dollars. In Ontario, the goal is $4,000,000 and in South Western Area, the area with which Huron Unit is now af- filiated, the goal i,s. $:350,000. Sunday, March 1 1 , there will be an operWouse Lal Prtnceis Margaret Hospital in Toronto, it was learned. The next meeting; of the Huron -Unit will be in early May in Wingham. . The Huron'Unit of the Cancer Society mot ,irt Goderich Thursday evening at Knox Church. Seen here discussing the meeting are (left to right) Bob Swartman, president of the Goderich Branch whichAhosted the meeting; Miss Sheila McKinnon, special speaker for the evening who is Co-ordlnator for Services to Patients, Ontario; Don Brandt, Ontario Division; Mrs. D. S. MacNatighton, Wfngham, known to many as "TM Grand Old Lady of the Cancer Society"; and Gordon' Richardson, Huron Unit- President. (staff photo)