Judy Fratella, Sharon Moore, Hallie Vickers, Natalie Marcus, Jan Kneip, Sharon Thompson, Kathy Decker, Betty Dickey

Judy Fratella, Sharon Moore, Hallie Vickers, Natalie Marcus, Jan Kneip, Sharon Thompson,
Kathy Decker, Betty Dickey

Wasting no time in 2014, the Northern Inyo Hospital Auxiliary has already given three valuable pieces of equipment to Northern Inyo Hospital this year.

First, the NIH Auxiliary purchased a $2,000 hospital grade breast pump for nursing mothers. Many times when an infant is born premature and is being cared for at another facility, the mother is unable to provide breast milk to her child, which is the very best source of nutrients and immune system support available to these at risk infants. Additionally some mothers may experience challenges with breastfeeding. Both of these issues, and many others, can be greatly helped by the use of this powerful pump. Each mother is supplied with their own set of hoses and suction cups. As milk never touches the pump, only the mother’s personal hoses, it is easy to keep the unit sterile between users.

As if that wasn’t enough for the first quarter, this ambitious bunch then secured two patient lifts for the Emergency Department totaling $8,179: the UltraMove and the Vehicle Extractor. The UltraMove is a comfortable relocating device with a weight capacity up to 400 lbs. The Vehicle Extractor has a capacity of up to 500 lbs and will assist with transferring patients to and from vehicles safely and efficiently. The Pillsbury Foundation very generously donated 40% of the funds to the NIH Auxiliary for the purchase of these lifts, and the NIH Auxiliary

John Cocherell of the Pillsbury Foundation awarding the grant for the patient lifts to the NIH Auxiliary

John Cocherell of the Pillsbury Foundation awarding the grant for the patient lifts to the NIH Auxiliary

made up the difference in cost, ensuring that the NIH Emergency Department received both pieces of equipment.

To date, the Northern Inyo Hospital Auxiliary has donated $439,248.64. All of the monies raised by the Northern Inyo Hospital Auxiliary fund the purchase of life saving equipment for the hospital. To join the NIH Auxiliary, feel free to drop by their meetings which occur every Wednesday from 10:00 am-12:00 pm at the corner of Birch Street and Grandview (across from the Jill Kinmont Boothe School), or download an application online at www.nih.org.

Northern Inyo Hospital is a 25-bed, Critical Access, not-for-profit hospital in scenic Bishop, California. The only hospital for 150 miles that is accredited by The Joint Commission, Northern Inyo Hospital has been providing high quality healthcare in the Eastern Sierra since 1946.

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