Langley Times, May 10, 2017

Congratulations on 70 years!

Your commitment and dedication to the citizens of Langley who need our hospital is truly valued and appreciated. We congratulate you on this incredible milestone and look forward to continuing our partnership with you to build a healthy community!

2 Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

Table of Contents President Profile ...................... 4 The Early Years ........................ 5 History ...................................... 7 Penny Pincher .......................... 9 Auxiliary Purchases .................10 Dedicated Volunteer ..............11 Bus Donation ..........................12 VolunTEENS .............................13 Hospital Archives ....................15

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70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

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Volunteering a Family Tradition By taking on the role of President, Diane Thornton continues a family tradition of raising funds for hospitals and health care.

Voluteerism is in Diane Thornton’s blood.

The Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s president said volunteering runs in her family.

It’s this natural inclination for helping out, and the ongoing effort of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for equipment and programs at Langley’s ‘hospital on the hill,’ that drew Thornton to the role of president.

“I have a history of volunteering, and it just seemed to be a natural progression,” Thornton said.

“I was on the (Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s) executive. I was secretary to begin with (then) vice president. That’s usually how we progress. We bring people on, ideally as a director, and they’ll take an executive position and move up to president.”

She’s been the auxiliary’s president since 2011.

“It’s a two-year term,” Thornton said. “(I’ve been elected) by acclamation — four times.”

She added as her colleagues sitting around her chuckled, “Nobody else ran against me.

Election is in quotation marks.”

Thornton’s 11-year history with the auxiliary continues a family tradition.

“My mother was a lifetime member of the (hospital) auxiliary in Powell River,” Thornton

said. “And I have two sisters who currently volunteer. So I guess it was instilled in us.”

When Thornton retired from her job as a customs broker, which she did for “30-plus years,” she was looking for something to do to keep her busy.

“I didn’t want to sit around all day and do nothing,” she said. “I knew what an auxiliary was, I knew what they did.”

As well, Thornton’s husband made it clear that he didn’t want her to volunteer with an animal welfare group.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like animals, but he knew how much of a soft spot his wife had for furry friends — and he didn’t want any new additions to the household.

“He said I couldn’t volunteer with the SPCA,” Thornton related, “because he figured I’d bring them all (animals) home. The thing is, you take things home from here (the auxiliary’s Penny Pincher thrift store), but they’re not live.”

Thornton said she’s a “lifer” with the auxiliary.

“Some people volunteer for a short time and move on to something else, and there’s a few of us in a core group where we get sucked in and then it’s a lifetime thing,” Thornton said.

“You really believe, and buy into what they’re doing.”

As auxiliary president, she has many duties.

“It’s the overseeing of the whole organization,” Thornton explained.

“I oversee the different programs that we

have. We have the gift shop, information desk, Penny Pincher (thrift store that raises funds for the hospital). I volunteer (at Penny Pincher) because I like the hands-on contact. You oversee the whole operation.”

An ongoing challenge for the auxiliary is its public identity. Simply, Thornton pointed out, people don’t know what it does.

“A lot of people don’t know that we are all volunteers, and that we raise money for the hospital and healthcare in our community,” Thornton said.

Thank you to all past and present members of the Auxiliary for 70 years of exceptional service to our hospital and community. Congratulations on reaching this milestone, your continued care and dedication is truly appreciated by many.

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70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

The Hospital On the Hill The first regular meeting of the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary was held in the waning days of 1947.

working for the good of the hospital. This group would be the liaison between the hospital and auxiliaries. The idea was not accepted at that time.

Excerpts from “The Hospital on the Hill, A History of Langley Memorial Hospital”

By Lenore Pratt

By July 1947, the Langley hospital planning and building had progressed to the point of needing the woman’s touch. A group of interested ladies, spearheaded by Mrs. A.O. Rose, called a meeting at the Masonic Hall.

The purpose was to organize an auxiliary for the hospital.

On September 25, 1947, the first Women’s Auxiliary to Langley Memorial Hospital was officially started.

The first executive was: President – Mrs. A. O. Rose 1st Vice-President – Mrs. A. Marr 2nd Vice-President – Mrs. J. Gibson 3rd Vice-President – Mrs. Betty Cox Secretary – Mrs. U. Ward Treasurer – Mrs. Betty Greenfield Setting Sail At the first regular meeting, Mrs. Fraser handed out a large supply of material to the ladies.

At the November 17, 1947 meeting, the sewing committee reported that 143 draw sheets, 66 pillow cases, and 67 diapers were handed out.

The Langley Women’s Auxiliary envisioned themselves as the auxiliary, and the other groups that were formed would be arms of this auxiliary. They wanted the work to be handed out and returned to them, as well as any money earned. The idea, undoubtedly, came from other auxiliaries in the province.

Adding to the Fleet In February, 1948, Brookswood was organized as “Brookswood Women’s Auxiliary to Langley Memorial Hospital.”

Their president, Mrs. Meyers, attended the Langley Women’s Auxiliary. She pointed out to that group that Brookswood wished to be an auxiliary, not an arm or branch.

After much discussion, it was decided that Brookswood would call themselves an auxiliary. Mrs. Meyers suggested that there be a separate group, made up of the executive members of the auxiliaries/groups

Over the next couple of years, auxiliaries were formed in Willoughby (Fireside Women’s Auxiliary), Fort Langley, Glen Valley and Otter.

While the need for sewing was important, the need for money for smaller items, not budgeted, was equally important.

In the spring of 1949 an Easter Fair was organized by the Langley Auxiliary, with the assistance of the Brookswood Auxiliary and a large number of community organizations.

It would appear to have been an elaborate affair. It earned a profit of $1,348.80 which, translated into today’s money, would be more than 10 times that amount.

The Langley Auxiliary discussed the many ways that the money could be spent. Two of the items suggested were furnishing the second floor of the nurses’ residence and buying screens for the hospital windows. The screens won out! Obviously, screens were more important than beds for nurses!

The ’40s and ’50s The auxiliaries were asked to be the hostesses for the opening of the hospital in 1948, and for the opening of the nurses’ residence in 1949.

Until 1988, whenever open houses were held for the public the auxiliaries continued to be the hostesses, providing the tea, coffee and goodies.

The idea of starting a thrift shop, as many auxiliaries in the province were doing, grew to a reality. This made regular bi-monthly

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

meetings of the council necessary. The store, called the Superfluity Shop, opened in December, 1956, on Fraser Highway. The six auxiliaries staffed the store on a monthly basis. It was open three days a week. The community people were faithful donors to the store and many a fine item was sold to the needy and not-so-needy.

The ’60s & Opening of a New Hospital The store was moved to a private house on New McLellan Road in February, 1962. It remained a viable business until September, 1964. The profit earned from the store during the time it was open was $15,568.

As the hospital expanded over the years from 1948 until 1965, the auxiliaries’ records show that hospital beds and furniture were bought for the expanded areas.

During that time the woollens were collected and sent to be remade into very good blankets.

There was a feeling among auxiliary members that money earned should be spent on patients’ welfare. Therefore after the nurses’ residence was established and furnished, the office equipment and kitchen equipment provided, these three areas became low on the auxiliaries’ donation list.

While plans for a new hospital were in progress, all six of the auxiliaries put on extra events to earn money to furnish a ward. Each auxiliary pledged the amount of money for a ward of their choice and it appears the bronze plaques were found on six yards in the new building. A space on the main floor, across from the elevators, was made for the Gift Nook.

Although the space was not large, it was a great improvement over the basket on one’s arm. As with the Superfluity Shop, each auxiliary was assigned a number of shifts for which they would be responsible.

The Auxiliaries Council approached several community associations to work in the Gift Nook.

Ladies from Rebekah Lodge, the United Church, the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Forestry association worked a monthly shift.

A cart to be laden with items from the Gift Nook was acquired to be taken out to the wards twice a week for the convenience of the patients. Similarly, a cart was acquired for library books which will be taken to the wards twice a week.

Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary 5

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70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

Auxiliary Pre-Dates Hospital The humble beginnings of the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary pre-date the hospital itself.

Before LMH was built, local women formed a group that knitted socks and sewed bandages for the Red Cross during the Second World War. In September, 1948 the cottage hospital opened to patients, and then the main hospital opened in February, 1965.

The auxiliary turns 70 this year and is marking the occasion with a members-only birthday party on Sept.

25. Approximately 190 members have donated a total of 45,400 volunteer hours in 2016.

Over the past seven decades, the auxiliary has generated millions of dollars for the ‘hospital on the hill.’

In fact, the auxiliary has raised more than $8.5 million for the hospital since 1994.

“We pledge twice a year,” auxiliary president Diane Thornton said.

“The hospital comes to us with what we refer to as a wish list — this is what they need, this is high priority.

And the auxiliary decides, among us, with guidance from the hospital. We say, ‘OK, we have so much money, this is what we pledge to buy.’”

The lifeblood of the auxiliary’s fundraising is the Penny Pincher Thrift Store at 20560 Fraser Hwy. It operates Monday through Saturday from 9:30am to 4pm.

And it just so happens that both are celebrating an anniversary, with Penny Pincher marking its 40th year.

“We’ve been around a long time,” Thornton said.

“I still think there are people out there who don’t know who we are or what we do, or confuse us with the (Langley Memorial Hospital) Foundation.”

This was the first full year the auxiliary has run the Penny Pincher Thrift Store

at its location on the east end of the one-way section of Fraser Highway (the former Coast Capital Savings building).

“And we had the biggest profits,” Thornton said.

“So we’re always trying to encourage ourselves to see if we can push that figure.”

Thornton said both the LMH auxiliary and foundation share the same goals

— raising funds for the hospital — but stressed “we are two separate organizations.

“We are all volunteer-based and they are professional fundraisers.”

Last year, the auxiliary pledged $753,000 worth of equipment for LMH, Thornton noted.

“It was a little unusual,” added director Thelma Boileau, who has been with the auxiliary for 17 years.

“We wouldn’t pledge that much every year, but what happened was, one of the major pledges we made from the previous year was cancelled, so that money rolled over into last year.”

The biggest recent purchase made by the auxiliary is a 2017 Ford Girardin bus for those at LMH’s residential care.

“It’s our third bus that we’ve purchased, so we’re quite proud of that,” Thornton said.

But the fundraising doesn’t end there.

Some of the other equipment either purchased or pledged by the auxiliary in 2016 include: • A CADD pump, which delivers

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

medication, while allowing the patient to be mobile; • Lucas 2 chest compressor, which provides chest high quality compressions to sudden cardiac arrest patients; • Ten Isogel mattresses; • Mobile patient lift; and a • Gynnie OB/GYN stretcher; “Our tag line for this year is, ‘70 years of serving our hospital and our community,’” Thornton said.

“Not only do we raise funds for the hospital through Penny Pincher and the gift shop, we also have been involved over the past seventy years in a lot of other programs.”

Programs sponsored by the auxiliary include residential care, acute care, junior volunteers, meet and greet, and pastoral care.

As well, the information desk at LMH is staffed by auxiliary volunteers, and the auxiliary sponsors the ‘VolunTEEN’ program for volunteers aged 19 and under, who socialize with patients, man the information desk, and offer reading materials on patient units.

The success of the auxiliary not only hinges on the volunteers, but also on the people who purchase items at the thrift shop, vendor tables at LMH, and the hospital gift shop.

Thornton said the reason for giving is simple.

“We all have some kind of connection to the hospital,” she said.

“And what’s donated, stays in Langley.”

More volunteers are always appreciated, especially those of the male persuasion.

“Good, strong men who don’t say a lot and have good backs,” Thornton said half-jokingly.

For more about the auxiliary and its programs, visit langleymemorialhospitalauxiliary.ca.

Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary 7

A BIG Thank You

Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for 70 years of dedication, service and support.

To each and every one of our volunteers: Thank you for your time, dedication and contributions.

Your ongoing support is a cornerstone to our success.

Thank you for all you do for our patients, residents, clients, staff and community.

Sincerely, Langley Memorial Hospital, Langley Health Services and the Langley Medical Staff Association Interested in volunteering with us?

Visit www.fraserhealth.ca/about-us/volunteer/ to find out more about volunteering with one of our Auxiliary programs or other programs throughout Langley Memorial Hospital and Langley Health Services.

Did you know the Auxiliary supports: • Hospital Gift Shop • Hospital Information Desk • VolunTEEN program • Penny Pincher Thrift Store • Residential Care Bingo • Vendor Program • Hospitality and TV program … and so much more!

445 LMH Volunteers contributed OVER 21,000 hours in the past year!

LMH Auxiliary generously donated over $750,000.00 in 2016! These funds purchased much-needed equipment including a new bus for Residential Care, cystoscopes, vital signs monitors, stretchers and much more.

Langley Memorial Hospital FRASER HEALTH

Langley Memorial Hospital

8 Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

A Haven For Treasure Hunters Penny Pincher thrift store supporting Langley Memorial Hospital often teeming with shoppers and dedicated volunteers.

It’s a Tuesday afternoon in mid-March and the Penny Pincher thrift shop run by Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary volunteers was bustling.

Bargain hunters sifted through items lined neatly on shelves, mixing with volunteers wearing familiar blue vests, who busily buzzed around the store.

Penny Pincher, with a pair of stores sitting side-by-side on the eastern tip of downtown Langley’s one-way section of Fraser Highway, is the place to be for shoppers looking for deals — and to support the cause of raising money for Langley Memorial Hospital equipment and programs.

The thrift shop — which is celebrating its 40th year — is located at 20560 Fraser Hwy. and is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Penny Pincher’s history of success dates back to its infancy. In fact, in 1977, its first year of operation, at its original location in Sundel Square (and later after it moved to Acadia Street), the thrift shop earned a far better profit than expected — $12,999.05, all earmarked for the hospital.

Penny Pincher is not only a place for shopping, it also connects the community with auxiliary volunteers, many of whom have been connected with the group for years.

President Diane Thornton has been with the auxiliary for 11 years; committee member Linda Steier for 17; past president Christine O’Sullivan for 16; and first vice-president Thelma Boileau for 17.

“I’m the newbie among this group,” Thornton said.

The commonality among them is a passion for raising funds for the hospital, and an

Steier said the volunteers are like “a family that gets along on Monday and doesn’t on Tuesday. But you make lifelong friends and you appreciate aging, because you watch it every day at Penny Pincher.”

Thornton said some volunteers come once or twice a week, “for the companionship.”

“They enjoy having coffee and meeting with people and that’s important to them,” Thornton said.

affection for Penny Pincher.

Boileau said Penny Pincher allows community members to give back to LMH. “Whether they donate to the store or they are spending $1.50, they’re still involved,” Boileau said. “The donations just keep going, even though there are (roughly) 14 other thrift stores (in the community).”

“And our tagline is, if you donate in Langley, it stays in Langley,” Thornton added.

“All of our money stays here, and I think that’s an important distinction, and I think people recognize that,” Boileau said.

Penny Pincher has moved locations a few times, from being across from Sundel Square, to the Greyhound Bus Depot on Logan Avenue, to 56th Avenue, to its current home at the former Coast Capital Savings building on Fraser Highway.

The two buildings come with plenty of parking, Thornton said. “That was a big bonus because parking in Langley City is nonexistent.”

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

Oddball Donations Aplenty Penny Pincher’s popularity has led to some unique donations — either by design or not.

One example: someone dropped off the ashes of a loved one at Penny Pincher’s former location on Logan Avenue.

On a more mainstream vein, unique artwork and memorabilia have funneled through the store.

“Everything comes through this store in a year,” Boileau said. “Our dumpster is picked up three times a week with things we can’t use, but we get treasures.”

Pictures, records, china, pottery, “you name it,” Thornton said, are regularly dropped off at the store.

“We have seen the cycle change over the last 10 years, too,” Steier said. “All the antique stores that used to be around are no more, because the newer, younger under 60, under 50 (shoppers)… they’re not collecting those things. So if a silver spoon was worth five dollars five years ago, they may only be worth a dollar today because nobody wants to collect them. We’ve been around long enough to see the changes.”

For more about Penny Pincher, and a list of items that aren’t accepted, and volunteer requirements, visit langleymemorialhospitalauxiliary.ca/ thriftshop.html.

- Files from The Hospital on the Hill, A History of Langley Memorial Hospital 1948-1998

Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary 9

Auxiliary Purchases Made in the Last Year Video Glidescope Titanium

$20,000 Vascular Site Rite 8

$39,000 Two Vital Signs Monitors

$9,200 Five Colonoscopes Scopes

$126,000 Bariatric Bed

$24,000 Specialty Mattresses

$22,000 Ten Patient Stretchers

$100,000 Gyne Stretcher for Emergency

$14,000 Bus for Residential Care (story on page 12)

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70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

Over 30 Years of Commitment and Service Dedicated gift shop volunteer has devoted three decades of service to the hospital. “Friday Night is gift shop night and that’s it,” says Pat Walker.

More than 1,000 shifts over 30 years — that’s dedication. Pat Walker is one of the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s most ardent volunteers, devoting four hours each Friday night to man LMH’s gift shop.

All of the money from items purchased at the gift shop go to the auxiliary, and is, in turn, funneled back to the hospital.

Walker has lived in Langley for almost 48 years. She and her husband, Al, purchased their Langley home on Dec. 1, 1969 and have lived there ever since.

Walker’s connection to the auxiliary came through Rene Osenton.

“She and another lady volunteered, and I used to hear them talk about going up to the hospital auxiliary and so I thought, ‘that’s something I could do,’” Walker said.

“They went once a month, so I started volunteering once a month at that time.”

Starting with her first shift in February 1986, Walker has spent her entire volunteer time

with the auxiliary at the LMH gift shop.

“It was just something I did,” Walker said. “Friday night is gift shop night, and that’s it.”

Her shift takes, on average, four hours “by the time you count your cash and you cash out at the end of your shift.”

The gift shop’s and auxiliary’s purpose is dear to Walker.

“It is a good cause. Sometimes we don’t make much money, but we do a really good service. There’s the patients… even if they come and buy a chocolate bar, it’s a good service.”

Walker said no one who works at the gift shop is paid.

“It’s all volunteer,” she said.

“And if the gift shop wasn’t there, the patients and the visitors, they’re all very thankful we’re there,” Walker added, noting that magazines, flowers, stuffed toys, and snacks are the most popular items sold in the shop.

Much has changed over the course of 30 years.

“When I first went there, the building that we’re in now wasn’t even there, it was the first building,” Walker said.

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“And so people weren’t able to walk into the shop. They just came to a window and were asked what they wanted, and we sold it to them. And also, we had a long tray with a card for every patient. And people would come in and ask us what room they were in and we would thumb through it and were able to tell them.” Walker said.

The 80-year-old will continue to volunteer at the gift shop for as long as she is able to do so. For those wanting to volunteer, she says, “it’s a really nice place to work and we get compliments all the time on our gift shop, and everyone is friendly. And it’s only four hours a week. How can that hurt you?”

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Thank you to the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for supporting our hospital and community for 70 years.

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Third Bus Purchased A brand new Ford Girardin bus will be used to take those in residential care on shopping trips and lunch outings Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary volunteers recently delivered a new recreational bus to folks in residential care.

A total of $105,000 was donated for the 2017 Ford Girardin bus, that will be used to transport the residents to and from appointments, and to allow them to take part in recreational field trips.

“This is the third bus that the auxiliary has purchased for residential care,” auxiliary president Diane Thornton said.

“The one that we have just replaced was 20 years old and passed its best-before-date.”

The money used for the bus was allotted as part of the auxiliary’s yearly contributions to the hospital, and is made possible through our sales in the Penny Pincher Thrift Shop as well as the LMH Auxiliary Gift Shop.

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1:16 PM 70 Years of Serving Our Hospital2017-05-01 & Community

VolunTEENS Help Brighten Patients’ Days Sponsored by the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, program offers teens valuable volunteer experience within the hospital.

Support from the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary has allowed Poonam Deol to combine two of her passions: healthcare and volunteerism.

The 19-year-old Langley resident and SFU Health Sciences student is part of the ‘VolunTEEN’ program that’s sponsored by the local auxiliary.

VolunTEENs are volunteers ages 19 and younger who provide service to LMH patients and families in four areas: • Information Desk – escort visitors and answer inquires from patients, staff and family members; • Unit visits – socializing with patients; • Dining room host – offering socialization and support during meal time at the hospital; and • Library rounds – offering reading materials on patient units.

It’s a relatively small commitment – oftentimes a single, two-hour shift per week, either evenings or weekends, with hours worked out to accommodate each VolunTEEN’s schedule.

The VolunTEEN program runs Monday to Saturday at the hospital, said Jude Henders, LMH’s volunteer resources coordinator.

“On those six days, there’s one team leader and usually five to six teens below them,” Henders said.

The program has been in place at LMH for roughly the past 50 years, noted Henders.

Ultimately, Deol wants to be a doctor, so, she says, what better place to volunteer than a hospital?

A keen ear during her Grade 11 school year at R.E. Mountain Secondary put the VolunTEEN program on Deol’s radar.

“There was an announcement one day, and I was looking for volunteer opportunities at the time,” Deol recounted. “The announcement said there was an opportunity… for volunteering at our local hospital. And I’ve always loved interacting with people in school clubs, and I loved making those one-on-one interactions, so I thought it would be a really good fit for me. I wanted to pursue something in healthcare so I thought it was perfect.”

There’s also an educational aspect for Deol and other VoluTEENs interested in the healthcare profession.

“We learn about the terminology, and it’s really nice to see the hands-on (work) being

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

done when you come here,” Deol said. “It’s almost like applying your skills.”

She’s been a VolunTEEN for going on three years and has graduated to the role of team leader.

“For the first half-an-hour (of my shift), I plan out shifts and go up to all the different floors to see if there are any specific patients that need any extra attention, or benefit from a conversation, or a stroll around the hospital,” she said. “Then, once everyone comes in, we basically assign the shifts.”

With library rounds, VolunTEENs offer books to patients to read.

“It’s a way to get their minds off things,” Deol said, about the patients. “If they can benefit from a book or just a conversation, we bring in our library carts to see if they want something to read, or maybe just to talk.”

Deol said the “No. 1 reason” why she loves volunteering at the hospital is the interaction she has with the patients, the majority of whom are seniors.

“If I could just make one person happy in a day, that means the world to me,” she said.

Teen applicants can apply online at www. fraserhealth.ca. Click ‘About Us, Get Involved, Volunteer’ and scroll down to Langley Memorial. Potential VolunTEENs will be directed to a link to apply online.

Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary 13

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101-221A St Langley, BC (Next to Langley Memorial Hospital) I www.fitorthostudio.com 14 Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

Keeping the History Alive A room showcasing LMH archives will keep Langley Memorial Hospital History alive. Hospital artifacts, along with part-time volunteers, needed for project at Michaud House.

Doris Riedweg holds many happy memories of her years working as a nurse at Langley Memorial Hospital.

The Langley retiree wants to share those memories, and many others, with the public through an archival project spearheaded by the Langley Memorial Hospital Heritage Committee in partnership with the Langley Heritage Society.

Mementos and artifacts are being collected to help tell the story about the hospital’s history.

Among the artifacts offered by donation thus far include a “baby box” that was used to send newborns home, as well as an iron baby cradle.

On the wish list are one or two mannequins to dress in nurses’ uniforms and display cases, large and small.

Members of the LMH Auxiliary are involved as well, by offering some of their artifacts.

“The committee believes it is important to preserve the history of past generations for the enjoyment and enlightenment of both those of the present and the future,” 86-yearold Riedweg wrote in recently published letter to the Langley Times.

She added, “It’s important to remember the LMH Auxiliaries who, this year, celebrate seven decades of giving and serving their hospital and community.”

The objective is to set up an LMH archives in Michaud House – a heritage home in Langley City – and to have the displays open to the public on specified days.

For this to happen there must be two

volunteers on duty whenever the doors are open, for safety reasons.

“Without the help of the hospital community and the citizens of Langley this project cannot succeed,” Riedweg noted in the letter.

Anyone with artifacts to donate or loan, or anyone interested in volunteering for two or three hours a week or less, contact Riedweg at 604-534-3384 or Kate Ludlam at the LMH Foundation at 604-514-6043.

“Our mission is to preserve the history of the hospital, and it’s important because people don’t know how it began, and they don’t know how the pioneers really worked so hard to bring this (hospital) about –– Langley’s first hospital, the cottage hospital,” Riedweg said.

Riedweg is well-versed in the hospital’s history; she was the editor of the book The Hospital on the Hill, A History of Langley Memorial Hospital 1948-98.

She noted getting healthcare –– emergency and otherwise — was very difficult to access prior to the hospital being built.

“We want to preserve the history so people will be remembered,” Riedweg said. “And how it was such a hard-fought battle to get it (the hospital).”

Long and rewarding career Riedweg had three tours of duty at LMH. She graduated from a three-year nursing program at Vancouver General Hospital in 1956, and went directly to LMH’s cottage

70 Years of Serving Our Hospital & Community

hospital.

And while her first experience as a working nurse was at LMH, she didn’t spend her entire career there. At the same time, she wasn’t away for long.

“I left twice and came back three times,” Riedweg said. “Altogether I think I was there, say, 20 years. I couldn’t stay away for some reason.”

She went to Lunenburg, N.S., to continue her nursing career, then returned to Langley before departing again to take a postgraduate course in surgery at Vancouver General Hospital. After that, she went to Powell River, followed by a six-month leave that allowed her to travel around the world.

“Then I worked in Victoria for a while and then came back to Langley as the head nurse in the new operating room in the new (hospital) building,” said Riedweg, who retired in 1979, to come home and work on the family farm.

Riedweg said the process of becoming a nurse is “so different now” than it was in the past.

“Until the 1980s, to graduate as a registered nurse, one had to enter a training school in a big city hospital. I think there were only six in BC.,” Riedweg said.

Back then it was a three-year program as opposed to the two years that nurses do now in colleges or universities.

“In the training schools we got a great deal of hands-on experience. Today, the students are assigned to various smaller hospitals for their practicum,” Riedweg said.

“And by the way, in those earlier days, all nurses wore uniforms.”

She described the atmosphere working at LMH under former director of nursing Marion Ward as “wonderful.”

“And with the doctors, they just all made it a very good place to work,” Riedweg said.

Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary 15

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