Submitted by Jan Taylor

The Hospital Auxiliary organization was thankful and happy to meet in person for the first time since last February, 2020. President Merylin Lowrey called the meeting to order with 16 members and two guests present. The meeting opened with the members reciting the auxiliary prayer.

Hospital CEO Julie Jones welcomed our group back to the hospital after the year away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also shared some news about the hospital’s response to COVID, information on the upcoming Celebrity Waiter Dinner, and the financial and upcoming equipment needs of the hospital. She also answered questions.

Jan Taylor and Pam Henderson gave a short presentation on behalf of the Atchison County Health Center’s Board of Trustees. They spoke on the Health Center’s needs and the request for a tax levy increase. The Health Center has operated on the same tax rate since it was established in 1965. They encouraged everyone to please go out and vote on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Your Atchison County Health Department needs your help.

Marilyn Alldredge reported that we have new spring items in the Sunshine Corner Gift Shop. She also thanked the volunteers for working to help keep the gift shop open. We welcomed a new auxiliary member and gift shop worker, Lori Mitchell. We are so thankful to have her! We now accept credit cards as well as cash and checks. We look forward to seeing you in the shop soon.

Our group encourages everyone to support the hospital by purchasing the Celebrity Waiter DVD and meal. You won’t be disappointed in the show and the meal choices sound delicious. We voted to donate $500 to the Celebrity Waiter Dinner this year.

We will be having our annual Spring Bake Sale on Thursday, April 1, in the Hospital Conference Room. The sale will be from 6:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. This is a perfect opportunity to purchase some wonderful baked goods for your Easter Dinner.

Our spring plant sale will be April 29 in the hospital conference room from 6:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. We will have all sizes of beautiful flowering plants and some vegetable plants. This is a great place to get your mom the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Our next meeting will be April 15 at 1:30 p.m. in the hospital conference room. Anyone interested in taking an active role in supporting our local hospital and enjoying the company of like-minded people, is encouraged to join us.