Auxiliary History
In 1952 the Board of Directors of the Dansville Memorial Hospital invited delegates of several women’s organizations in the Village of Dansville to attend a meeting at the Public Library. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility and the advantages for developing an Auxiliary organization for the hospital.
On February 18, 1952 the Dansville Memorial Hospital Auxiliary was officially organized with 39 charter members. Officers were elected, bylaws were adopted and dues of $1 a year were established.
Members mended linens and made curtains for the new part of the building and in June 1952 the addition to the Dansville General Hospital was opened and the name was changed to Dansville Memorial Hospital. Auxiliary members were the hostesses for the celebration.
Specific Duties For Auxiliary Members Emerged to Include
- Floor service
- Reception Desk
- Mail, newspaper and flower delivery
- Filling patient water pitchers
Services expanded to transporting patients for x-rays, serving food trays and other routine procedures.
Auxiliary fund raising began in 1964. Some of the earliest and most successful fund raising projects were card parties and the publication of a cook book. There were bake sales and fashion shows. Items purchased for the hospital were an oxygen tent, coffee pots, hot plates, toasters, TV sets, ice making machines, loungers and a rocking chair for the maternity ward.
In September 1969 a display case was placed in the lobby which featured toiletries, cosmetics, candy, gum and patient gift items. This was the birth of the Gift Shop.
When the new hospital, Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial Hospital, opened at its present location in 1973, the Spice Box Gift Shop was located in the lobby area. Marg Shay and Ida Mae Molyneux were co-chairs for 20 years until 1989 when Barb Mettler and Joanne Van Durme succeeded them.
The Spice Box Gift Shop was relocated in 2006 to its present location when the hospital expanded the surgical center and the ICU. Donna Dwyer became the manager.
When the Dansville Memorial Hospital was 17 years old in 1969, the New York State Health Department indicated that the license would not be renewed in 1974 unless a new facility was ready or under construction at the time of renewal. Among the first pledges to the new hospital was from the Hospital Auxiliary which pledged $15,000.
In 1970 the Auxiliary researched the idea of Circles as a method for expanding membership and increased hospital support. In 1973 there were seven Circles, each named for a spice – Clover, Peppermint, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Poppy Seed, Ginger, Sesame, later Spearmint. Each circle was responsible for its own money-making project and in a relatively short period of time turned over $25,000 to the Auxiliary.
In the Next 30 Years, Many Different Projects Were Held Which Netted Proceeds Enabling the Auxiliary to Purchase For the Hospital
- Draperies
- Reclining Chairs
- Surgical Lift
- Ultrasound equipment
- Echocardiogram equipment
- Volunteer Memorial Park
- Operating room instruments
- 2 hospital vans
- Multiple Lifeline units
- Birthing beds
- Sterilization equipment
- Infant hearing testing equipment
- Chapel renovations
- Mammography suite and equipment
In the 2000s, Noyes Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Fundraising Projects Have Been
- Book Sales
- Uniform Sales
- Jewelry Sales
- Geranium and Flower Sales
- Cook Book Sales
- Dansville 1/4 Mile Kids Run
- Tree of Lights
- Quilt Raffles
- Chip in Fore Noyes Classic golf tournament
- Spice Box Gift Shop
- Craft Boutique
- Collective Goods Sale
Which Have Enabled the Auxiliary to Purchase For the Hospital:
- Hospice Room renovations
- Fetal Monitor
- Arterial Blood Gas Analyzer
- Tents – used for Flower Sale and Kids Run
- Dialysis Medication Refrigerator
- Mammography Reader
- Spice Box Gift Shop and Coffee Bar
- Dialysis Machines
- Portable Fetal Monitor
- Vital Signs Monitors
- Lifeline Units
- Anesthesia Machines ($70,000)
- Infusion Center Renovations and Treatment Chairs ($50,000)
- All Emergency Department patient rooms, the Emergency Department waiting area and all of the furniture in the Emergency Department waiting area ($305,500)
The Auxiliary fund raising projects also allow us to award Scholarships to graduating high school seniors planning to enter a health related career. When the Scholarship program began, awards were $50. Now, the Scholarship Committee has the authority to award up to $5,000 in scholarships a year.
Over the last 59 years, the Auxiliary represents the dedication of thousands of people whose volunteer work has benefited the Hospital in millions of dollars.