The gift shop at the Melfort Hospital will be temporarily set-up at the Melfort Historic Post Office.
Volunteers with the North Central Health Care Foundation (NCHCF) run the gift shop but have been locked out of the space since March when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Executive Director Peggy George said the operation of the gift shop serves as a steady income for the foundation.
“Every dollar that we make in the gift shop goes to the foundation and we typically turn over $30,000 to $35,000 a year,” George said.
Before the pandemic began, the NCHCF committed to purchasing $95,000 worth of equipment.
“We can’t do any fundraising so we aren’t too sure how we are going to pay that $95,000,” George said.
The city was willing to work with the foundation and provide the space at the Historic Post Office since it is not available for rentals at this time.
“Hopefully we can stay there for a good while because it doesn’t sound like we are going to be getting back into the hospital or Parkland Place anytime soon,” George said.
Set-up has been underway over the month of October and is set to open to the public on Monday and is having a soft opening today and tomorrow. The gift shop will be open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.
“We have lots of things to look at and we have lots of things to sell,” George said.
Sadly, the lack of funerals due to the pandemic has also affected the foundation this year.
“We have so many people that do memorial donations when they lose a loved one and we are so grateful for that,” George said. “Now when there aren’t any funerals, we are missing out on those donations too so it is extremely important to have the gift shop open.”
The ear marked equipment includes a camera for the surgical operating room, a special bed at Parkland Place and equipment for the lab at the hospital for bloodwork.
Parkland Place was also recently in need of a lift to move residents out of bed and chairs.
“We were strapped and we couldn’t help them so it’s important to always have a contingency plan and have something on hand for those kinds of things,” George said.
George said the blanket warmer at the hospital also broke and needed replacing but wasn’t on the radar or in the budget.
“Everything ages and everything has a life span and when it comes to healthcare equipment it all wears out too fast,” George said.
Donations are always being collected by the foundation at www.nchcf.ca or by cheque through the mail at Box 1480 in Melfort.
The NCHCF is also once again part of Melfort and District Donor’s Choice which runs throughout the month of October.
Farmers can also donate to the foundation by taking a load of grain into Viterra or Richardson Pioneer and they will donate the funds.
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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca
On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser
